Silver and Scarlet
by Anticlownperson
Summary: A HermioneDraco seventh year fic. PostHBP. It's not exactly a romance, more of a deep friendship sort of thing. Please leave me a review!
1. Arrival and Awareness part I

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot, Jo Rowling is the genius, not me!

A/N: Okay, there were a few little things that were bugging me, so I went back and made some little changes, and I added a few notes as well. Sorry my chapters will so small for a while, I was originally dividing this up to have it on another site, but they wouldn't accept it and I didn't feel like going back and trying to divide up my chapters to make them longer.

This is my first serious story, so if it's really bad, just let me know what I can do to improve. Okay, thanks!

-MagPi

**Chapter One**

Hermione was standing on Platform 93/4, staring at the train that would take her to Hogwarts for her seventh and final year at school, and she was looking forward to it being her best year. She had been made Head Girl, of course, and her shiny new badge was pinned to the strap on her bag so she wouldn't lose it.

Hermione sighed happily. She had seen Ron and Harry briefly before she got onto the Platform, and they had agreed that they would save her a seat on the train in their compartment. Hermione got on the train and worked her way up to the front where the Heads special compartment was. She didn't know who the new Head Boy was, but he wasn't there yet.

She stowed her trunk in the rack above her seat and sat down sideways on her seat with her back to the window. She watched the other students boarding the train and thought about all the things she wanted to do during her last year.

Draco lugged his trunk down the corridor on the train. This was one of the few problems with being Head Boy. It had been the same when he was a Prefect. Because he had a different compartment than the rest of his cronies, he had to haul this stupid trunk for himself. It wasn't hard, he just hated doing it.

He reached his compartment and slid the door open. There was a girl sitting there already, but she didn't seem to have noticed him yet. Draco lifted his trunk up onto the rack, but still the girl didn't seem to have heard. Draco wondered who she was. There was something very familiar about her, but he couldn't place what it was. Her back was to him and he couldn't see her face.

_Whoever she is,_ Draco thought. _She's quite pretty..._He looked at her for a moment longer, trying to think why she seemed so familiar. Then it hit him. He suddenly recognized the curly brown hair. And just as suddenly, Draco realized what he had just thought. _Oh damn! Draco, you idiot, you just called Hermione Granger pretty!_

Just then, Hermione looked around, seeming to realise, finally, that there was someone else in the compartment with her. Her eyes narrowed when she saw who it was. "You." She hissed, standing up. "You're Head Boy." It wasn't a question; she knew it when she saw the badge pinned on his chest. Draco smirked.

Hermione had known Draco would still be at school, even after the previous year's events. Professor McGonagal had written to Hermione and her friends over the summer explaining things. From what she had said, Draco had come to London and gotten a room at the Leaky Cauldron, where he had asked to meet with the teachers. No one was sure what had happened to him, o where he had gone, but he was unhurt physically, though it was clear he no longer was the same boy he had been.

Hermione had been shocked to learn that he would be coming back, but she knew that McGonagal wouldn't have allowed him back if he had been a threat to the other students or staff at the school. Harry, however, had been livid; he had written to her the same day. Hedwig had arrived at Hermione's house with a four-page letter ranting about Draco.

Thinking about it now, Hermione was slightly shocked that her opinion of Draco had not changed for the worse, even now. Instead, she wondered more why he had tried everything he had, why he had done the things he had. She was pulled back to the moment as Draco spoke.

"Oh very good, Granger," he said, as though bored with this conversation already. "Yes, I'm Head Boy." Hermione rolled her eyes at him and sighed in frustration.

"I'm not going to deal with you right now, Malfoy." She said. _Oh, of all the people to be stuck sharing a common room with!_ Hermione thought angrily.She reached up into her bag and pulled out a book. Sitting down on the seat like she had before, Hermione started reading, still alert in case Draco tried anything.

Draco closed the compartment door again; he didn't want Pansy coming to look for him. That he would see her when they reached school was bad enough, he didn't need to deal with her right now, not when there was already so much on his mind. He sat down on the seat opposite Hermione. _Something's different with her,_ Draco thought absently. But what? True, her hair wasn't the bush mess that it had been; now it was shiny and smooth, no longer frizzing out in all directions. But there was something else, too.

He looked closer at Hermione. She had gotten a nice tan over the summer, while Draco seemed to have gotten, if possible, even paler. Looking at Hermione again, he saw that she was wearing different clothes than she usually did. They were more fitted and stylish than what she had worn the last time her saw her. _Actually,_ Draco thought, somewhat amusedly, _she isn't all that bad to look at. Maybe I just haven't looked at her properly before. Or does the absence of her little boyfriends have something to do with it?_

Draco had paid closer attention to Hermione ever since she had hit him in their third year. Something about her nerve had interested him. He knew that she wasn't a soft, weak bookworm. She had proved that by hitting him. True, she had been almost insanely angry at the time, but that had just intrigued Draco even more. Not many girls would have the daring to hit a Malfoy, much less the son of Lucius Malfoy. But _she_ had.

In classes, Draco and Hermione were almost equal, Draco was second nearly all of the time, and Hermione rarely had a lead of more than a few points. Draco knew she was a stubborn as he was, maybe even more, and she was just as determined. In fact, many of the things that his father had taught him were common among Muggleborns, Draco had found to be untrue in Hermione Granger. His father had said that they were weaker in magic, without it flowing through their blood the way that purebloods did. He had also said that most of them didn't see the finer points of magic, or many of its more delicate uses, having grown up thinking that magic was just lights and bangs and funny words.

Draco had believed all of this when his father had first told him, but that had been before he had met Granger. She had broken all of the rules that Draco's father had insisted upon. Even though Draco wouldn't admit it to himself, he sort of liked the idea of sharing a common room with only her. He wanted to know more about her; outwardly, he still hated and despised her, but on the inside, Draco had begun to question why he had hated her to begin with.

A/N: Yay, first chapter down! Please leave me a review, even if you think it was total crap. I do like constructive criticism!

A quick preview of the next chapter:

"Draco sat by himself in the Heads compartment. Hermione had suddenly stood and walked out, purposely looking away from him. Draco sighed, thinking about how different it was, sitting here with her versus sitting with his fellow Slytherins. Somehow he was more comfortable sitting with a girl he was supposed to hate."


	2. Arrival and Awareness part II

A/N: Whee, second chapter! I know that this is sounding really cliché for right now, but I promise it's not going to be. Now onward!

-MagPi

**Chapter Two**

Hermione wasn't going to pretend that she wasn't interested by the boy across from her. For a long time, she had been impressed by the fact that he was nearly as good as she was in nearly every class. Even his Defense Against the Dark Arts marks were good; he was definitely the best Slytherin at the subject.

In fact, Hermione thought that a lot of Draco's image was because he was the son of Lucius Malfoy. Everyone expected him to be an egotistical pureblood maniac, and so he was. But from what Harry had said about Lucius Malfoy, he treated his only son with distain, particularly because he was bested at every turn by Harry Potter, almost an equal to Draco in most respects, and by Hermione herself, a Muggleborn, a Mudblood. Add Ron, as a Weasley, and therefore despised by the Malfoy family and Hermione thought it was no wonder that Draco's father thought so little of him.

Hermione glanced at him over her book. He was actually quite tall, and while he was thin, Hermione could tell that he was fairly muscled because of playing Quidditch. He had let his hair grow longer so that it fell into his eyes a bit, and she couldn't be sure which way he was looking unless he looked right at her. He seemed completely at ease, sitting across from her, reclining back in his seat with his feet propped up on the seat next to her.

As she looked closer, Hermione realised that Draco was wearing a very different expression than the one he usually wore in her presence. He seemed rather lost in thought, and there was no trace of his trademark smirk on his face at all. _He almost looks human_, Hermione thought. She looked at him for a moment longer. Suddenly his eyes met hers. She felt like she was looking into pools of molten silver. Hermione looked away slowly, trying to seem as though she hadn't been staring at Draco.

As Hermione looked down at her book again, she realised that she had seem nothing of the usual emotions that were in Draco's eyes when he looked at her. There was no malice, no distain, no hatred, none of the things she was used to seeing. Now that she thought about it, they had been sitting in this same compartment together for half an hour, and not one had Draco said anything about her or her friends. No remarks about Harry, nothing about Ron or the Weasleys, he hadn't even called her Mudblood. Just Granger, and he hadn't even said that as harshly as he normally did. In fact, he had been about as civil as Hermione could before her brain kicked in and reminded her that this was Draco Malfoy she was talking about.

Draco had been staring blankly at the wall trying not to think about anything when he suddenly felt Hermione's eyes on him. He looked at her; she held his gaze for a second before looking away. _She actually has pretty nice eyes_, Draco thought. They were a warm dark brown that reminded him of chocolate. He watched Hermione for a few minutes, both hoping and not hoping that she would look at him again. He didn't want her to know that he was staring, but he wanted another look at her eyes. There was something about the way she had looked at him, a sort of feeling he'd never gotten before.

It wasn't a bad feeling; it was actually sort of comforting. Draco had the strangest sense that if he had wanted to, and if she had let him, he could tell her anything and she wouldn't tell anyone about it. And that just heightened his interest in her. Something was telling him that maybe this interest wasn't such a bad thing after all. And oddly enough, just across from him, Hermione was thinking the same thing.

Finally, Hermione couldn't take it any longer. She had to get away from Draco. She had felt him looking at her since his gaze had met hers nearly ten minutes ago. And it was getting hard not to look up again and meet his eyes. But that was only part of what was bothering her. It was also that he was being civil to her, and she could not now begin to think of anything else, especially not with his eyes on her.

Suddenly Hermione stood up and walked to the door, careful not to look at Draco. Once she was in the corridor, she closed her eyes and leaned against the wall for a moment before setting off down the train to look for Ron and Harry.

Draco sat by himself in the Heads compartment. Hermione had suddenly stood and walked out, purposely looking away from him. Draco sighed, thinking about how different it was, sitting here with her versus sitting with his fellow Slytherins. Somehow he was more comfortable sitting with a girl he was supposed to hate.

Maybe it was because he could do whatever he wanted; she wouldn't get mad if he didn't act like King of the World. She might be suspicious and confused, but he wouldn't lose her respect, assuming she even had any for him. He didn't need to worry about upholding his reputation in her eyes, since it was clear that her opinion of him was far less than flattering. The Slytherins were always asking annoying questions or trying to be his best friend so that he would invite them to Malfoy Manor over the holidays.

Draco frowned. He had only just realised that he had been sitting in the same compartment as one of the Golden Trio, and he hadn't said a single insulting thing to her. He hadn't even thought about it. All he had noticed was how she looked and the way she acted. Other than that first remark, he hadn't said a single word.

Draco smiled suddenly as a thought struck him. Pansy would be furious; she didn't know that the Heads had to share a common room. She would be expecting him to return to the Slytherin Common Room after dinner. Yes, there were definite advantages to being head Boy. No Pansy, and instead, he got Hermione who seemed in no hurry to get in his way. Yes, things might turn out quite well after all.

Hermione found Harry and Ron in a compartment halfway down the train. They looked up and grinned when she opened the door to their compartment. "Hey Hermione," Ron said. "Who's Head Boy?" Hermione grimaced. She had been trying to avoid thinking about the blonde Slytherin boy.

"Malfoy," she said, frowning. She had suddenly been unable to say his name with the same hatred and loathing that she was used to. Instead, the word had come out expressionless and flat.

"Malfoy?" Ron's eyes were popping slightly.

"_Malfoy!_" Hermione sighed. "Yes, Ron," she said tiredly. "But that's not all. I have to share a common room with him, too." Both Harry and Ron looked aghast.

"No way," Harry muttered, almost to himself. "No way, there's got to be a mistake. They can't force you to do that!"

Ron nodded in agreement. "Everyone knows how he is to you. He's probably planning something right now..." He made a face. "Augh, Malfoy, Head Boy. Sick..." he trailed off, pretending to be puking violently.

Just then, Ginny walked into the compartment. "Hey, guys, Hermione!" she said brightly. Then noticing their expressions, she frowned and asked, "What's up?" Hermione made a face and told her about Malfoy. Ginny looked horrified. "Oh no," she said, looking as though she might be sick. "Oh no, they can't do that to you!"

Hermione shook her head. "I don't know, but it's too late to do anything about it now." She checked her watch. "I'd better get back to my compartment. My letter said the Professor McGonagall wanted to talk to us at noon." She stood up and walked to the door.

Ron called after her, "If he does anything to you, we'll beat him to a bloody pulp!"

Hermione walked slowly back up the corridor to the Heads compartment. She was confused. She didn't want to go back where Draco was, and yet, she was so intrigued by him. Something about him had changed, and she wanted to know what it was, and why.

Finally, Hermione got back to her compartment. Draco was sitting just as he had been when she left. Hermione could have sworn he was looking at the same spot on the wall, too. As she closed the door, however, he turned his head slightly so that he was almost looking at her. Suddenly Professor McGonagall appeared in the doorway. Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Draco sit up straighter and turn his attention away from the wall just beyond Hermione and look at McGonagall. "Congratulation to the both of you," she began. "Your duties as Head Boy and Girl were explained to you in your letter, so I'm only here to answer any questions you might have. Also, I must explain about your living space this year." She took a breath and continued.

"You will be sharing a dorm for the rest of the year. You will each have your own bedroom and bathroom, but you will have to share a common room. Also, you will patrol the corridors together each night." McGonagall looked at Hermione and Draco. "Well, if there are no questions, then that is all I have to say." She turned and walked out the door, closing it behind her. Hermione looked at Draco, expecting to see revulsion and disgust on his face, but instead, she saw curiosity and something else that she couldn't name. She turned away from him and sat sown again, staring out the window. Across from her, Draco slid back down in his seat and put his feet up again. He was much more comfortable this way, and Draco knew that, with the number of thoughts running around his head, he might not be moving anytime soon.

First off, there was the concept of having to share a dorm with Hermione. He was actually slightly shocked that he had felt no trace of his usual emotions regarding the girl. In fact, if he was going to be honest with himself, he was almost looking forward to it. He thought that it might not be too bad, and it would make a nice change from the Slytherins. And he was curious. He had watched her, sometimes out of the corner of his eye in classes, or from across the Great Hall at mealtimes. Once or twice he had watched her in the library under the pretense of looking through books for class. Something about her had slowly been making him more and more curious about her, even if he hadn't realised it until recently. He wanted to know more about her, and he was finding that the more he tried to ignore it, the harder it was to stop watching her.

Hermione was watching Draco's reflection in the window, wondering what he was thinking about. She wondered briefly whether he was plotting against her, but a second look proved that wrong. He looked too thoughtful and wrapped up in his mind to be planning anything. _That's a good look for him_, Hermione mused. _He's actually good-looking when he's like this..._ Hermione realised what she had just thought. But it was true, wasn't it? Perhaps this year wouldn't be as bad as she had thought it might be.

A/N: Another chapter entirely on the train, what was I thinking! At least now it's done, so we can move on to bigger and better things! Again, please leave me a review, because feedback is just ever so nice.

Next chapter: "The corners of his mouth turned up a little. Hermione was slightly shocked. Malfoy was actually _smiling_, or very near to it."


	3. Feasting and Fine Housing

A/N: Wow, I've been getting quite a few reviews, thanks so much!

I had a lot of fun writing this chapter. I love the common room, so I hope you guys do, too. I apologize in advance if this chapter goes a bit slowly, but I promise, things start getting much more interesting here!

-MagPi

**Chapter Three**

Hermione met up with Ginny, Ron and Harry again in the Entrance Hall and they went into the feast together. They sat down at the Gryffindor table, Ron complaining about how hungry he was. The food appeared and they all piled their plates with food. Hermione took less than the others did; she didn't really seem as hungry as she usually did at the start-of-term feast.

While Ron and Harry talked and joked loudly next to her while Ginny laughed, Hermione found her thoughts turning again to Draco. Once more she wondered why he had been acting so differently on the train. Why had he been alone, when every time she saw him he was surrounded by Slytherins? Why was he suddenly being civil toward her? She didn't know that across the hall, Draco was wondering the same things.

Now that he was away from Hermione and surrounded by laughing, talking Slytherins, Draco's thoughts were beginning to clear at least a little bit. It was easier to see why he had slightly preferred her company compared to this crude, malicious group. Turning back to his thoughts, Draco asked himself, why hadn't he insulted her? And when had he begun to think of her, not as Mudblood, or even as Granger, but as Hermione? When had he decided that he no longer cared much for the company of his fellow Slytherins?

Draco pushed his food around his plate with his fork. He didn't feel much like eating anymore. He looked aimlessly around the Great Hall, finally resting his gaze on the Golden Trio sitting at the Gryffindor table. Draco frowned. Suddenly, he didn't feel the rush of hatred that he always had in the past. The feeling he had always associated with Potty and the Weasel King. But now, now he felt only a vague annoyance; he didn't really care. For the first time, he wasn't thinking how best to anger them; instead, his gaze slid sideways to the girl beside them.

Draco noticed at once that Hermione seemed about as interested in her food as he was at the moment. She was staring off into space, frowning slightly. Something seemed to be bothering her, and Draco wandered what it was. _Probably worried about her precious boyfriends_, Draco thought. But no, that didn't seem right. She had been like this on the train as well, it wasn't anything new.

Hermione also seemed a little removed from her friends. She was sitting a little apart fro them and she wasn't taking any part in their conversation. Draco frowned. He was very curious now as to what Hermione was thinking about. He wondered if maybe it had something to so with how he had been acting on the train. She could hardly have missed the difference; after all, she had spent six years being tormented by him at every turn. But somehow, even the thought of such activities was unappealing for some reason. Draco no longer cared about insulting Hermione. In fact, if anything, he found he didn't want to.

Suddenly, across the Hall, Hermione's gaze turned to him. She wasn't staring blankly anymore; she was looking at him with an interesting combination of suspicion and curiosity. Draco realized that he was staring, but somehow he couldn't bring himself to look away. He could see that Hermione's curiosity was winning out over her suspicion as she continued to watch him. Finally, she looked away and Draco sighed. He felt light-headed and confused, and he wanted nothing more than to get away from the noise that surrounded him. He needed some time alone to sort out his thoughts. Draco stood up and walked out of the Great Hall, walking aimlessly around the corridors until he decided that he should probably go up to his new dorm. He hadn't realised how tired he was; Draco headed toward the entrance to his new home, wishing for nothing more than to simply get into bed and fall asleep where his thoughts couldn't bother him.

After the feast, Hermione went straight to her new home. Her letter had said that the entrance to her new home was a portrait on the fourth floor. She found the right painting, a portrait of a girl and boy seated on opposite ends of a table. Hermione gave them the password ("bloated toad") and took her first step into her new home.

The room was larger than the Gryffindor common room, and it was decorated with a mixture of the Slytherin and Gryffindor House colors. There were two couches, one in dark green, the other a wine red. They sat on opposites sides of a large coffee table, and there was huge fireplace in the wall behind. There were also two armchairs on the other sides of the table, as well as a second, longer table on the far wall with four chairs. There were low bookshelves around the walls, full of books, both fiction and for studies. Thick carpets covered the floor and there was a rack on the back of the portrait to hang cloaks.

On the wall to Hermione's right was a pair of French doors that lead out to a balcony; she could see a view of the lake through the glass doors. On the other end of the room, the Hermione's left were two sets of stairs; the one on the left lead to a door with a golden lion knocker, the other lead to a second door with a silver snake.

Hermione walked over and opened the doors out onto the balcony. She stepped outside and sighed, breathing in the fresh night air. Then she walked over to the railing and looked out. She could see a good part of Hogwarts, including Gryffindor Tower, and she had a view of one end of the lake, with the trees in the Forbidden Forest swaying in the distance.

The portrait slammed shut again and Hermione looked around to see Draco standing by the door, taking in the sight of the common room. He nodded appreciatively and went to inspect the bookshelves along the back wall. Hermione stepped back into the common room, startling Draco, who hadn't realised she was there. He looked at her for a moment before turning back to the books. Hermione sighed and walked around him and up the stairs to her bedroom.

There was a note pinned to the inside of her door that read: "The key to your rooms is in a box on the desk. You may lock your rooms if you wish, the house elves will be able to get in to clean, but no one else will." Hermione closed the door and turned around to see her room, and gasped in delight.

The room was elegantly furnished all in scarlet and gold. There was a king-sized four-poster bed in the far corner piled high with blankets and pillows. She had her own fireplace with a screen to block out the light while still keeping her warm. Across the room from her bed was a roll-top desk

She walked over to a door in the wall, opening it to reveal a huge closet, already filled with her clothes and shoes. A door next to the closet led to her bathroom. There was a huge shower and a bathtub that looked bigger than the one in the prefect's bathroom. On the wall above the toilet were shelves full of fluffy red towels. Everything was trimmed in gold and the counter was made of a soft golden colored marble. On the counter by the sink were several large candles that smelled like spice and patchouli.

Hermione sighed happily and went back into her bedroom and flopped down onto her bed. There was a knock on her door. Hermione frowned slightly; it was probably Malfoy, wanting to say something horrible to her. Sure enough, his voice came from the other side of the door. "Hey, Granger, open up!"

She opened the door to find Draco standing there. "I just wanted to see what your room looked like," he said shrugging. Hermione arched one eyebrow. Malfoy was being polite? "They're probably the same, Malfoy," she said, leaning against the doorframe so he couldn't come in. "Yeah, but still, I wanted to see."

He shrugged again. "I mean, mine's pretty nice. Better than my room at home, actually," He added, almost as though he was ashamed of telling her that.

"Oh yes, Malfoy, because obviously my room couldn't possibly be as nice as yours, right?" she said sarcastically.

"Actually, they're pretty close. Although I think my colors are better," Draco said. The corners of his mouth turned up a little. Hermione was slightly shocked. Malfoy was actually _smiling_, or very near to it. "Nice room, Granger." Draco said. Then he turned and went down the stairs to the common room.

Hermione sighed and followed him down. She came back down into the common room just as Draco walked through the door to the balcony. Hermione walked past him to the bookshelves, trying not to look at him. She grabbed a book and sat down on her couch to read. Her head was hurting, and she wanted something else to concentrate on.

Draco watched Hermione sit down with her book. The firelight was making her skin glow golden and her hair was shining. Draco shook his head. He couldn't start thinking that way. Without realizing it, he walked over to the window next to the fireplace. He looked out across the grounds for a moment. Then he closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against the windowpane. His head ached and his thoughts had been replaced by an irritating buzz that wouldn't go away. Draco stood at the window for a few minutes more before opening his eyes again and walking away up the stairs to his bedroom.

Hermione looked up as Draco passed behind her, watching him go up the stairs and into his room. He had looked so different, standing in the shadows by the window. For a moment, Hermione couldn't think of the right word to describe the way he had seemed. Then it hit her; he had looked lonely. He had been a silhouette against the window, the deep blue of the night sky showing where he was standing. _He looked like a child who's crawled into a corner to hide_, Hermione thought, startled.

Hermione yawned. It was past 11:30, and she had classes to go to the next morning. She sighed and put her book down on the coffee table before going up the stairs to her own room. She changed her clothes and crawled into bed and was soon fast asleep.

In the room next door, Draco had also changed his clothes and gotten into bed. But unlike Hermione, he didn't feel like sleeping. His head hurt still, but Draco knew it would be a long while before he finally drifted off to sleep. He lay in his bed for a long time, his mind blank and his eyes closed until at last sleep came to him.

The next morning, Hermione woke up early as usual. She liked to have some time to herself in the mornings while things were still quiet. Often she would read, or write in her diary. Other times, she just liked to sit and enjoy the early morning quiet, or the birdsong coming through the windows.

She got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to shower. As she stood under the hot water, Hermione thought that at least Draco wouldn't be bothering her right now. Somehow, he seemed like the kind of person who would wake later than her, and she suspected that he would take quite a while making sure he looked perfect. She snorted.

Sometimes, she thought Draco acted a bit like her old dorm-mates, Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil. They would spend a ridiculously long time doing their hair and make up, and making sure they were wearing just the right outfits. Hermione had no patience with things like that. At Ginny's urging, she had finally started wearing a tiny bit of make up, not that it was very noticeable. Just a bit of mascara (because Ginny said it make her eyes stand out more) and a touch of clear lip-gloss (Ginny said it would draw attention to her perfect lips and would keep them from getting chapped as it got colder).

Hermione got out of the shower and wrapped a towel firmly around her. Then she went to her closet and grabbed a nice pair of dark jeans and a wine-red shirt. Then she pulled her school robes on, leaving them halfway open since it was a warm day. She put on her tiny bit of make up and brushed her hair gently so it didn't frizz, but hung in nice, shining curls down her back and around her face. Then she grabbed her book bag and headed down to the common room.

Draco had woken just after Hermione did. He rose immediately and headed to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Then he dressed in a pair of dark green corduroy pants and a black long-sleeved shirt and pulled his robes on over that. He didn't bother doing anything to his hair; these days he preferred to leave it however it happened to fall. Then he walked down to the common room where he's left his bag.

Hermione heard Draco on the stairs and stood up to leave. He appeared at the bottom of the stairs when she was halfway across the room. For some reason, he suddenly felt like he should say something to her. He shook his head mentally. "Morning, Granger." Hermione stopped and turned to look at him, surprised. Then her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What did you say?"

"I said 'Morning, Granger.'"

"And what on Earth compelled you to say that? Last I checked you're not supposed to speak to me. Something about my being a "filthy Mudblood" seems to be ringing in my mind here..."

"What, a person can't be polite? Here I am, trying to be nice and you're getting angry at me!"

"I'm not _angry_. I'm irritated." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Look, what do you want?"

"I told you, I was just trying to be polite," Draco said. "So sorry."

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes again. "Why don't you go bother someone else, Malfoy?" Then she turned and walked to the portrait, just barely glancing behind her before she stepped out into the corridor.

Draco slowly walked over to his couch and sat down, not looking at Hermione. Why _was _he being polite to her? He'd never said a pleasant thing to her the whole time he's known her, so why start now? He rubbed his eyes, feeling tired again. This was getting ridiculous. Why couldn't he just act like the plain old Draco Malfoy that he (and everyone else) knew? The worst thing was, he had a feeling it wasn't going to be going away anytime soon. Draco sighed resignedly and stood slowly. Then he grabbed his bag and headed down to breakfast.

As she walked, Hermione thought about Draco's odd behavior. As she had been leaving the common room, she had noticed that Draco was walking very slowly, almost cautiously. _Like I was an animal. Like he was trying not to startle me or something. _Hermione thought. She shook her head. _No, that's not right. And why was he trying to be polite to me? I mean, me, of all people! He might as well do the thing properly and go around trying to hug Harry and inviting the Weasleys to join him for the holidays. _She sighed. This wasn't her problem. She shook her head again to clear it. Then she walked into the Great Hall.

A/N: Hmmm, so what am I going to do next?

Next Chapter: '"That really happened, right? I mean, Malfoy, Draco Malfoy just apologized to someone. To Ron!" Ron looked equally amazed and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, that really happened. Or else we're both hallucinating pretty badly." Hermione just shook her head and looked at the classroom into which Draco had just vanished.'


	4. Surprises and Serious Topics

Hi all! This is one of my favorite chapters. Things start really getting good in this chapter, so I hope you guys love it as much as I do.

Also, Secret Murderer gets points for the most amusing theory about Draco's behavior in the last chapter:

"_So what happened to Draco? Or is that really Draco? I mean: he could be some kind of lame copy that some aliens left behind after they kidnapped him!"  
_Awesome idea!

-MagPi

Chapter Four

Hermione sat down at the Gryffindor table across form Harry and Ron, only realising afterward that she now had a perfect, unobstructed view of the Slytherin table. Harry and Ron broke off their conversation and turned to her. "Did Malfoy try anything?" Ron asked, noting her confused and angry expression. Hermione had just seen Draco walk into the Great Hall, frowning briefly in her direction before sitting down on the opposite end of the Hall facing her.

"Hermione, you okay?" Harry asked. Hermione shook herself mentally, and returned to the conversation.

"Actually he's been acting very oddly ever since yesterday." She told them about Draco's behavior on the train the day before. "And when I was leaving the common room, he said good morning to me." Harry gave a low whistle.

"Whoa..." Ron twisted in his seat to look over at Draco sitting alone at the Slytherin table.

"Malfoy, not acting the high and mighty Prince of Slytherin? I almost can't believe that." Harry nodded in agreement.

Hermione just frowned, once more engrossed in her own thoughts. She didn't know why Draco was suddenly so unlike the person she knew and despised, but she wanted to find out. Having plenty of experience with Hermione's thoughtful reveries, Harry and Ron talked by themselves until Professor McGonagal came around passing out schedules.

Hermione was shaken out of her thoughts by a loud groan from Ron. "Double Potions, first thing!" he said, looking as though the mere thought was killing him.

"At least we've still got Slughorn," Harry said. "Not...well, someone else." He turned away, gripping the edge of the table tightly. Almost involuntarily, Hermione looked over at the Slytherin table. Draco was looking down at his own schedule. Then he slowly looked up, seeming to scan the Gryffindor table until their eyes met. He looked quickly away and stuffed his schedule in his bag.

Hermione walked down the stone steps to the dungeon five minutes later. She never liked Potions at the best of times; the fumes and vapors made her hair frizz out. And once you added the Slytherins it was fair to say it was torture. _At least Harry doesn't have that stupid book anymore,_ Hermione thought to herself.

As she walked down the corridor with Harry and Ron, someone hurried past them, knocking into Ron in the process. "Oi, Malfoy!' Ron said loudly. "Watch where you're going!" Draco turned and looked at Ron.

Hermione thought she saw his eyes move to her for a second before Draco looked at the ground and muttered, "Sorry," before turning and continuing down the corridor to class.

Ron and Harry looked stunned. Finally Harry said in a low voice, "That really happened, right? I mean, Malfoy, Draco Malfoy just apologized to someone. To Ron!" Ron looked equally amazed and nodded slowly.

"Yeah, that really happened. Or else we're both hallucinating pretty badly." Hermione just shook her head and looked at the classroom into which Draco had just vanished.

"What is wrong with him?" she asked. "I mean, first he says good morning, now he says sorry to Ron...What's gotten into him?" Harry and Ron just shook their heads, baffled.

When they entered the classroom, Hermione sat down between Harry and Ron as usual. As they took out their cauldrons, Hermione glanced over at the table where the Slytherins were sitting. The other three Slytherins were talking and laughing with each other, but Draco was just sitting there, looking as though he wasn't paying an attention to his surroundings.

Hermione sighed. She had noticed last night at dinner the number of places that were empty, places that should have been filled. She knew that a lot of parents had chosen not to let their children return to Hogwarts, now that Dumbledore was gone. Almost a third of the school was gone, and even at breakfast, she had seen that some more had left already.

Slytherin House in particular was diminished; almost half of the table was empty, and they moved about in packs, now that they had gone from the despised House to blatant enemies in so many of the student's eyes. Hermione wondered again why Draco had come back. Nearly everyone knew that he had played some part in things on the night Dumbledore was killed, even if they didn't know what. Even his fellow Slytherins seemed wary of being near him for fear of being thought sympathetic to him.

Hermione looked back at her own table just as Ernie Macmillan entered the class and sat down opposite her. Ron turned to her suddenly, a slight grin lighting his face. "Hey, Hermione," he said, "I forgot to ask, what's your common room like?"

Harry looked around with interest. "Yeah, tell us!" he echoed. Hermione smiled. "Oh alright," and she told them all about the wonderful room, putting particular emphasis on how nice the red and gold was. She really didn't want either of the boys to know that she rather liked how the green and silver looked as well.

The rest of the lesson passed normally enough. Slughorn talked to them about their NEWTs and quizzed them on the things they had learned in the last six years. He seemed somewhat subdued, but he still greeted Harry with enthusiasm.

When the bell rang, signaling the end of class, Hermione left the dungeon and headed back up to the common room. She had a free period, as did most of the class, other than the few who were still taking Divination, such as Lavender and Parvati. Harry and Ron left together to go outside for a while, talking animatedly about Quidditch.

Hermione took her free hour to straighten her room and finish unpacking some of the things she had left the night before. She hung up a few pictures, mostly of Harry or Ron or Ginny. Her gaze lingered on one picture that had been taken near the end of the previous year. Ron and Harry were sitting in the common room playing a game of chess; Ginny had draped herself over Harry's shoulders. Hermione herself sat next to them with a book on her lap, watching the game.

Hermione bit her lip and looked away from the picture. It was a small reminded of their short-lived time of quiet before things had gone horribly wrong. She stood in the middle of her room for a moment, staring into space, thinking about how much things had changed for them all. Finally she pulled herself back to the moment and went down to the common room to grab her bag. Then she went back upstairs to Defense Against the Dark Arts. Hermione smiled slightly as she spotted Harry and Ron outside the classroom. No matter how much the world changed, there were some things that stayed the same; the boys were still arguing about Quidditch.

They took their usual seats near the center of the room. The boys had always wanted to sit in the back of the room ("Aww, c'mon Hermione! We can learn just as much back there as we can in the front!"). But she had insisted that the only reason they wanted to sit in the back was so the teacher couldn't see them as well ("You know perfectly well that it's harder for people to see what you're doing when you sit back there!"). So they compromised and sat in the middle, close enough to the front for Hermione to feel comfortable, and far enough back that the boys felt they could get away with at least some of their various antics.

The room was filling up around them; people were talking and taking out their books. "You know," Harry mused. "We still don't know who's teaching this class this year." There had been an empty seat at the staff table the night before at dinner, and it had still been empty at breakfast that morning.

"I hope we get someone good!" Hermione said, looking toward the door. Just then, it swung open and a woman with short, spiky, bright pink hair walked into the classroom. Ron, Harry and Hermione all gasped at each other. "Tonks?"

Hermione scanned the room quickly. Lavender and Parvati were whispering together. Hermione caught the words "dreadful shade" and "horribly boyish". Dean and Seamus didn't seem to have a problem with Tonks' hair; they were eyeing her with interest. Hermione looked at Neville, who grinned and mouthed "Great!"

Tonks was standing at the front of the room, leaning casually on her desk and smiling at the class. "I know some of you already know who I am," she began, winking at Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Neville. "But for those who don't, my name is Nymphadora Tonks. You don't have to call me Professor, but if I ever hear you use my first name, I'll hex you." She smiled to show that she was joking and then sat down at her desk.

"Now, this is your last year of study at this school. This is also the year you take your NEWTs. This will be your hardest year yet. Remember your fifth year?" Several people winced. Tonks smiled. "Well this is going to be even worse."

Neville raised his hand. "What are we going to be learning this year?" has asked quietly. Hermione sat up straighter. She had wondered about this class since the end of the previous year. Certainly the events of the wizarding world would have an effect of their learning?

Tonks stood and walked over to the board beside her desk. "A good question." She took out her wand and tapped the board, which began to write down what she said. "There will be some review of everything you've done over the last six years, but we'll also be working with some more advanced and dangerous things. And we'll be doing something that's never been done before."

The class was suddenly very still; all eyes were on Tonks. She had suddenly gone very serious. "We'll be studying the history of Dark wizards, most importantly, the Death Eaters and You-Know-Who's first rise to power." The class was silent. No one had guessed they would be learning anything like this. Some sat still, while other fidgeted nervously. "No wonder we got an Auror," Harry said in a low voice to Hermione and Ron. "Who better to tell us about the evilest man in history?"

Neville turned around in his seat to look back at them. "Yeah," he said. "She might be young, but she already knows all about it, she's already fought Death Eaters at least twice." He smiled a bit, but it was a sad sort of smile. "We'll need this." He said, and turned back to the front. Hermione stared at her desk in silence. She was glad that they had Tonks there; she was bound to be an excellent teacher. But Neville's words were ringing in her ears. _We'll need this..._ Hermione thought. _I just wish we didn't._

Tonks spoke again, tearing Hermione out of her thoughts. "As Mr Potter and Mr Longbottom have said, I am a Ministry-trained Auror, Third-Class. This is why I was asked to teach here this year. I know the history of the Dark Arts front to back. I've fought Dark wizards. I was there that night more than two months ago." The class looked at Tonks in awe. They could see that she wasn't bragging. She was simply telling them, and it was comforting to know that.

Tonks sat down again and continued talking. "I'm going to tell you now, there will be times when you will hate this class or hate me. But remember that you will need to know what I'm going to teach you, even if it's only for the exams and hopefully not for use on the real world. So now, let's get started."

A/N: So what do you guys think of Tonks teaching? I've always wanted to use her in something, and I figured this was the best way to do it. I also needed something else in the story, it couldn't be all Draco and Hermione. I don't plan on writing one of those kinds of stories where nothing ever happens except romance or awkwardness or whatever. This is going to be a long story, and I wanted to write it as close to Jo Rowling's story as I reasonably could.

And here's your chapter preview for next time:

'"I asked you what's up," Hermione said, shrugging. "You seem really hacked off about something, I was just wondering what could make the infamously emotionless Draco Malfoy start punching furniture in frustration."'


	5. Assignments and Annoyance

Chapter five, woo-hoo! I'm in the middle of re-writing the next chapter at the moment, so it'll be a while until I can update again, but one thing that could really help speed things up would be if anyone would like to volunteer to beta-read things for me. I can't really do it myself, and none of my friends really care enough to help me write. Any takers?

This is my absolute favorite chapter of the ones I have written right now. And so without further ado, on with the story!

**Chapter Five**

An hour later, Hermione walked out of the classroom with Harry and Ron, headed for lunch. Hermione ate very little; she still didn't have much of an appetite. Then she headed off to Arithmancy, her head still full of Tonks' words.

As she entered the classroom, Hermione groaned inwardly as she spotted the blonde boy who was already sitting down. She had completely forgotten the Draco also took this class. She sighed and sat down at her usual seat across the room.

"Impressive, Granger." Hermione looked over at Draco to find him looking back at her, an odd expression on his face; half smile and half amused smirk. "You're nearly twenty minutes early for class, I think that's a record. And it's only the first day, too!" He laughed slightly at his own joke; it was an odd sound coming from him, but not unpleasant. Instead of being sarcastic and cold, it was as though he was genuinely amused.

"You were here before me, Malfoy, so what's your point?" Hermione crossed her arms and looked at him, one eyebrow raised.

"Well you're always early, whereas I am not. So the fact that you're early, but still later than me is amusing."

"Then you have an odd sense of humor, Malfoy."

"Odd? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Odd, as in really strange. Odd, as in off-center. Odd as in weird."

"Not twisted or evil? How about pathetic? Do any of those apply?"

"What, you want them to apply to you? You want to be twisted and evil and pathetic? Oh, wait, you already are."

"I am? No, I'm not! You just don't like me because I'm a Slytherin!"

"Well that certainly helps, too, you know. No, I don't like you because you're a git and you're self-centered and arrogant and you want everyone to like you no matter what. It's sickening."

"Well that's an interesting way of putting it..."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Coming from you, Granger, that's almost a compliment." Draco laughed again.

"As I was saying, your arrogance is never-ending, is it Malfoy?"

"I'm not that arrogant."

"Yes you are. Trust me, you are."

"Spoiled, rich, and damned good looking maybe, but not arrogant."

"That's arrogance right there, you idiot. And it's vanity, too."

"Whatever, Granger. I'm not arrogant or vain!"

"And you've now wasted nearly fifteen minutes of my precious time with this pointless conversation."

Hermione turned away and took out a book, then hid behind it. Draco tried to see the cover; he was bored and oddly curious to see what Hermione might read other than school books. He was too far away to see properly and was about to get up and move closer when the door opened and the rest of the class walked in; two Ravenclaw girls and Ernie Macmillan of Hufflepuff.

Draco smirked to himself, watching Ernie sit down in his usual spot, centered in the front row. The Ravenclaw girls took their seats in the back, leaving Draco and Hermione in the middle row on opposite ends near the walls. Originally there had been a second Hufflepuff, Hannah Abbott, but she'd been pulled out early the year before and hadn't returned.

Professor Vector started class, reminding them yet again about the exams. Draco tuned out for the most part as Professor Vector began quizzing the class on everything they had learned the year before. Draco answered any question he was asked easily; this was one subject that seemed to come naturally to him. He noticed as well that his classmates had all answered questions incorrectly—except for Hermione. Draco had never really noticed how she could answer any question without really thinking about it. Sure, he had seen her jump up and down, waving her hand in the air. But in this class she simply answered, no theatrics. It was almost as though she already knew what the question would be and didn't need to think about the answer. _Just like me..._ Draco thought amusedly.

He was jolted out of his thoughts when Professor Vector clapped her hands for attention. "Miss Granger, Mr Malfoy, would you both come up here for a moment please?" Draco stood and walked up the rows to the teacher's desk, unaware that he and Hermione had mirrored each other's movements exactly. They reached the professor's desk at the same time and stood looking at him.

"Now, you two are top of your class," she began. "It's clear that both of you learn this material very quickly, so I have a special assignment for you." Draco and Hermione glanced at each other, unsure. Professor Vector smiled and continued. "I would like you two to work together to compile a report on the history of the study of Arithmancy. I expect you both to do equal work. Given that this is a fairly broad assignment, I will give you a month to complete your joint report." Draco and Hermione both sighed then nodded.

"Professor," Draco asked. "Will our grade be lower if we end up trying to kill each other?" For a second Draco thought he saw Hermione fight not to smile, but the next moment her face was completely unreadable.

Professor Vector smiled slightly. "Mr Malfoy, I understand that you and Miss Granger are rivals, but I still expect you to be able to work together. In short, yes, your grade will be severely lower if either of you attempts murder on the other."

Draco nodded and said, "I'll have to keep that in mind then." Hermione looked at him sideways, one eyebrow raised. Something in her expression made Draco think that maybe he would have to watch his back a little more than usual around Hermione. _Well, this should be interesting..._ he thought.

After Arithmancy, Hermione headed off to a double period of Charms. Once again, the class was lectured on the importance of the exams and the difficulty they would face in their lessons this year. And once again, the class was quizzed on everything they had learned, from levitation to changing human appearance.

Finally, two hours later, Hermione had another free period before dinner. She was feeling a bit tired from all the questions, so she decided to go back upstairs to the dorm and do a bit of reading before going down to dinner. She gave the password to the portrait and walked inside, dropping her bag near the door. She paused to grab her book before sinking down onto her couch to read.

She had only read a few pages when the portrait swung open and Draco walked in. Hermione noticed that his hands were dirty and he was slightly flushed; she guessed that he must have just come from Herbology. He barely glanced at her before taking the stairs to his room. Hermione shrugged and went back to her book, ignoring everything else.

Draco took a quick shower to rinse off the dirt and sweat from Herbology. For some reason, he didn't mind getting dirt of him when he was working with plants. Anytime he was doing something with his hands, he felt that if he didn't get at least a little dirt on himself then he must not be working hard enough. Before now, he had always been wary of getting dirty around his fellow Slytherins, but now he found that he didn't much care. He got out of the shower and dressed again in clean clothes and went back down to the common room. He had a book in hand, something he'd picked out from the bookshelf that morning.

Draco saw Hermione sitting on her couch, deeply engrossed in her book. She hadn't heard him come down. Draco wondered again what she was reading. He walked up silently behind her so he could read over her shoulder. The book was completely unfamiliar to him, but there was something about Muggles, so he figured it must be a wizarding book. Still, Draco found it no surprise that he didn't know the book. He and Hermione probably had vastly different taste in books; their personalities were too different.

Forgetting that she didn't know he was there, Draco asked, "What are you reading?" Hermione spun around to look at him, startled. Draco backed up a step. "Sorry," he said. "I didn't mean to startle you." He walked over to his couch and sat down.

Hermione was looking at him oddly. "What do you care what I read?" she asked him.

Draco shrugged. "I don't know. I was just curious."

Hermione eyed him for a moment then said, "You wouldn't like it, it was written by a Muggle."

Draco gave his odd new half-smile and laughed slightly. "Actually, Granger, you'll be shocked to know I don't actually mind some Muggle books." He showed her his book.

Hermione looked at the cover, then shook her head and muttered, "I should have guessed..." She cocked her head to the side and looked at him. "Edgar Allan Poe?" she asked, her voice slightly mocking. Draco looked at her. _She almost sounds like me..._he thought.

"What's wrong with that?" Draco asked, feeling slightly offended.

Hermione laughed. "Oh there's nothing wrong with it," she said. "It's just so fitting. So _you_." She laughed softly to herself, and again Draco had the feeling that she could have been taking lessons from him.

"So are you going to tell me what you're reading?" he asked. Hermione stopped laughing, although the amusement had not yet left her eyes.

"Alright, it's only fair. It's called the Gammage Cup." Draco nodded slightly. "So what's it about?" Hermione looked slightly surprised.

"You honestly want to know?" she asked. Draco shrugged. "Why not?" Hermione looked at him strangely. "Uh, alright then. It's about these people called Minipins. They're all pretty much the same, they all dress the same and act the same, even their houses are the same, and they live in little towns in a valley. But in one town, called Slipper-On-The-Water, there are a few who don't act like the rest, so they're called the Oh-Thems."

Draco nodded. "Interesting, sounds good so far. Please continue." Hermione looked at him, then took a breath and kept going.

"I'm not going to give anything away, but eventually the Thems get outcast and have to live up in the hills above the town. They end up uncovering a threat to the whole valley, but they can't go back to the village to warm anyone." Hermione looked at Draco again.

"That's all you're going to tell me, isn't it?" Draco asked. Hermione nodded. Draco thought for a moment, then asked, "Could I borrow that book when you're finished?"

Hermione looked at him in surprise. "You actually want to borrow it? I mean, from _me_?" she said.

He shrugged. "It sounds interesting." Suddenly the bell rang, signaling the end of classes. Hermione put her book down and walked over to the portrait, pushing it open and heading down to dinner. Draco stayed where he was for a moment so that no one would think he was following her, then he headed down to dinner himself.

Once she got to the Great Hall, Hermione scanned Gryffindor table for Ginny. She found the unmistakable red-headed girl halfway down the table and sat down opposite her. "Hey, Hermione." Ginny said when the older girl sat down. "How's life with the ferret?"

Hermione sighed. "It's been so strange, Gin."

Ginny propped her chin on her hands and said, "So, tell me all about it?" Hermione sighed heavily and began retelling everything that had happened since dinner the previous night. Hermione was just telling Ginny about her conversation with Draco in Arithmancy when Ginny squeaked quietly and grabbed Hermione's sleeve. "Look, he just came in. And he looked over here!"

Hermione barely glanced over in the direction of the Slytherin table, just in time to see Draco sit down. "Ginny, what's so important about Malfoy walking into the Hall? He probably does it three times a day, you know."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yes, but normally he doesn't look over in your direction." Hermione shook her head.

"Ginny, you're delusional."

"Whatever you say, Hermione. Now, finish telling me about your day."

Hermione continued, telling Ginny about her second conversation with Draco that day. When she was done, Ginny tapped the table with her fingers, looking thoughtful.

"You know," she said, looking from Hermione to Draco. "He sure seems to be making an effort to be nice to you, even friendly. Or maybe he's not even making an effort. Maybe he really wants to be nice to you..."

Hermione laughed and glanced over at the Slytherin table. "Yeah, and maybe he's Ron's twin brother. I don't know what's up with him, but for the most part it's a huge improvement. If I have to spend more time around him than I would like, at least it's nice that he's not insulting me at every turn."

Ginny grinned at the older girl. "I have an idea," she said. Hermione eyed her suspiciously, and she grinned even wider and continued. "Maybe you should try asking him why he's acting so different. Maybe he'd tell you; he seems willing to talk to you at least."

Hermione thought for a moment, then said, "You know, that's not a bad idea, Ginny." Ginny grinned. "If you find out anything, tell me, okay!"

After dinner, Hermione returned to the common room, still thinking about Ginny's suggestion. Maybe Ginny was right, maybe Draco _would_ tell her what was up. Maybe he actually did want to talk to her. _I'd love to see Ron and Harry's faces if they ever heard me say that..._Hermione thought tiredly. She walked aimlessly down the corridor to the portrait. It was only the first day and she was already on autopilot.

Once she got to the common room, Hermione sat down on the couch for a moment and closed her eyes. She was glad the day was over; her shoulder was aching from the weight of her bag. Just then, the portrait door closed with a muffled thud and Hermione opened her eyes to see Draco standing by the door.

Draco wanted nothing more than to just crawl into his bed and go to sleep. He hadn't been sleeping well lately; the memories of the previous year were still fresh in his mind. Walking down the corridor to the dorm, he thought about another thing. It didn't help that he was virtually alone. In any other time, he would have had Blaise Zabini to talk to, or pretend to talk to. Blaise was the only person Draco could really call a friend; everyone else was more or less a glory-seeking leech who wanted a part of the Malfoy fame. But Blaise wasn't at school anymore; his parents had pulled him out to keep him at home where they felt he'd be safer.

Draco reached the corridor where the portrait was and saw Hermione slip inside. He hesitated, unsure of what to do. He didn't want Hermione to think he was following her; they always seemed to be in the same place at the same time. For some strange reason, didn't want to make her angry again. He didn't want her to be mad because of him. Deciding that he would just go quickly up to his room without bothering Hermione, Draco gave the password and stepped inside. Hermione was lying back on her couch, her eyes closed, looking very much asleep. However, her eyes opened at the sound of the portrait closing.

Draco glanced at her for a moment before climbing the stairs to his room and closing his door. He sighed and went to lie down on his bed, then stopped. There was a letter on his bed; a letter from his mother.

_Draco,_

_Your father is very pleased that you have been made Head Boy. He asked me to tell you that he is proud that you are finally being given the respect that the Malfoy name commands. He also wished me to tell you that you are in no way to dishonor our name. He is aware that you have been forced to work alongside the Mudblood girl. Your father was very strong on saying that you must at all cost prove your superiority over this girl! Your father and I are appalled that the standards at Hogwarts have sunk so low, but you are proof that they are not lost. Remember, you must make your father proud! Do not dishonor us!_

_--Your Mother_

_Narcissa Malfoy_

Draco looked at the letter in disgust. His father was in Azkaban, under tight security night and day, and yet he was still trying to control every aspect of his son's life. Even Draco's mother, who was practically a slave to her husband, was trying to control his life! Draco crumpled the parchment and threw it into the fire. No doubt his parents would be expecting a reply, but Draco had nothing to say. He could not be polite and courteous to his parents; he had little respect left for them. And he could not say anything about Hermione. He no longer saw her as an inferior person, he saw her as his equal, as indeed they were. Draco turned away and went back down to the common room where he wouldn't have to look at the smoldering remains of his mother's letter.

Draco stomped down the stairs, kicking at the steps in irritation. When he reached the common room, he flung himself down on his couch across from Hermione. He punched the arm of the chair, causing Hermione to stare at him. He didn't seem to notice, although he refrained from punching the couch again.

Draco leaned back and rubbed his eyes tiredly. He was really getting quite sick of both of his parents. His father wanted a son who was exactly like him and wouldn't question anything. Meanwhile, his mother still thought he was a little kid who needed to be looked after every moment of every day. Draco felt like his every movement was overshadowed by his family name, family history, family honor.

_Why does everything have to remind me of all that,_ Draco thought angrily. Even this room, with its combination of colors and décor made him think of his father. No doubt Lucius had been outraged that a Muggleborn could end up Head Girl, and would want to hear a nice, lengthy letter full of how his son was showing off his superiority at being a Malfoy and Head Boy. Draco groaned inwardly at this thought. Still, that was it. If he could do nothing else, this would serve him as a small bit of rebellion against his parents and their obsession with bloodlines and pureblood honor. It might be small and ineffectual, but it was something. _And my father will be angry ..._ Draco thought. Lucius was always suspicious of his son and trusted him very little. This small act would not go unnoticed. Draco punched the arm of the couch again, hard enough to hurt. "Shit…"

Hermione looked over a Draco, startled. Normally she wouldn't have cared why Draco was in a bad mood. Normally she would have glared at him with irritation at his behavior. But now, she couldn't help felling a little sorry for him. _After all,_ she thought. _What problems could he have? He's spoiled, he can do anything he wants...so why is he so angry?_ Draco was still punching the couch, occasionally muttering angrily to himself. Hermione's curiosity wouldn't let her be, so against her better judgment, she asked, "What's up with you, Malfoy?"

Draco froze, his fist still touching the arm of the couch. Slowly, he raised his head to see Hermione sitting curled up at one end of her couch, looking questioningly at him. "What did you say?" Draco couldn't think for a moment why she would care what was up with him, so why was she asking.

"I asked you what's up," Hermione said, shrugging. "You seem really hacked off about something, I was just wondering what could make the infamously emotionless Draco Malfoy start punching furniture in frustration."

Draco looked at Hermione in surprise. She seemed honest in her question; unlike the Slytherins, who asked questions not because they cared, but because they wanted to try to talk to the son of Lucius Malfoy. But Hermione actually seemed to want to know what was wrong with him. She had asked so flatly, as though he were just any other person. Draco wondered if this was how she always was, straightforward and interested in everything.

Hermione sighed. "I suppose it's too much to hope that I'm going to get an answer out of you, much less a polite one, so I'll leave you alone." When Draco said nothing, just looked up at her briefly, she got to her feet and walked over to the stairs to her bed room. At the foot of the stairs, the sound of Draco's voice made her pause and turn around. He was looking at her with an odd expression on his face, both thoughtful and confused.

"You wouldn't understand if I told you, Granger." She looked at him, slightly surprised that he had spoken. Then the corners of her mouth turned up slightly, flashing the barest ghost of a smile at the blonde boy.

"I think you might be surprised the things I would understand about, Malfoy." Then she turned and went up the stairs, leaving a very bewildered Draco staring after her. His mind was screaming _What does she think she she's doing! What trick is she trying to pull here?_ But another, smaller voice had awoken in the back of his mind. _Maybe...just maybe, she was being honest. You can probably trust her more than you can trust anyone else. Maybe you could talk to her..._ As Draco turned and proceeded back up to his own bed room, and got ready for bed, he debated what to do. Then, lying in bed in his dark room, he realised that the second voice was growing louder and louder in his mind.

So what do you guys think, did I do good? Please tell me what you think, it's so so so nice!

Speaking of which, I want to thank everyone who reviewed, you guys are the best. The current list is: SoulessxWarrior, Secret Murderer, Powderedsugar, LazLong, Danismine, Shout, GHDMfixrock, and Hermionemalfoypotterweasley. Thank you sooo much!


	6. Music and Musings

**Author's Note: I'm finally updating! dances in circles and cheers I'm sooo sorry about making you all wait this long; things have been very hectic for me lately. But I'm back now!**

**This chapter may be a bit weird, because there's some poetry-type stuff in there nearer the end. I've warned you beforehand so that nobody goes "Huh?" when you reach that spot. And now, onward!**

Chapter Six

The next morning was a Saturday, so Hermione felt she could sleep in until 8.00. When she woke up, she showered and dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt, pulled her hair into a pony tail and did her makeup. Then she went down the stairs to go to breakfast.

Hermione had just started on her eggs when Ginny came in and sat down across from her. "So, did you talk to him?" she asked as she dished food onto her plate.

Hermione shrugged and said, "Well, sort of, I suppose."

Ginny laughed. "Yes! And, what did he say?"

Hermione tilted her head and looked thoughtfully at Ginny. "Well," she began. "It wasn't exactly a conversation or anything..."

Ginny looked puzzled. "But you talked to him?" Hermione twirled her fork between her fingers for a moment, trying to decide how to tell Ginny without going into too much detail about Draco. Finally she decided to just tell her the whole thing. So she took a deep breath and told the other girl about Draco's sudden change in mood.

"I asked him what was up," Hermione said, thinking over the events of the night before. Ginny nodded. "And did he say anything?" she asked. Hermione sighed and glanced over at the Slytherin table, but the boy wasn't there.

"That's the weird part, Gin. I think maybe you were right. I think he might talk to me." Hermione told the younger girl what Draco had said to her the night before.

Ginny sighed. "Wow," she said. "I didn't even think I was right, but who knows?" She grinned at Hermione. "I think it's funny that were sitting her gossiping about Draco Malfoy over breakfast. It's almost cute..."

Hermione rolled her eyes and threw a piece of bacon at Ginny, laughing. "Oh shut up Ginny! It's not gossip if we don't talk to anyone else about it, now is it? And I don't think ether of is going to."

Ginny laughed and picked up the bacon, throwing it back to Hermione. "It's still funny though!" she said.

"Hey, want to come up and see the dorm?" Hermione asked. She and Ginny had finished their breakfasts and were sitting at the Gryffindor table trying to decide what they should do. Ginny nodded.

"Oh of course!" she said excitedly. Then she frowned a little. "But what if Malfoy's up there? I don't want to deal with him..."

"Don't worry, it's my home too, and we're allowed to have visitors anyway," Hermione said, grabbing Ginny's arm and leading her out of the Hall. "And besides, I don't think he'll bother us even if he is there."

When they reached the common room, Hermione gave the password and stepped back to let Ginny in. The younger girl gasped, looking all around. "Oh Hermione, this is brilliant!"

Hermione laughed. "Come on, I'll give you the tour." She and Ginny wandered all around the room, Ginny looking at everything excitedly. "This is just so wicked, Hermione." Ginny said. Hermione was leading Ginny towards the balcony when Draco's door opened.

Draco had woken later than usual, having not gotten to sleep until very early in the morning. Instead of going down to breakfast, he simply called a house elf and had his food delivered to him in his room. Then he'd poked around the dorm a bit, seeing if there was anything he hadn't already found. He avoided Hermione's room, although the temptation had been pretty strong. For some reason, he wanted to see what her room looked like, what sort of decorating she had.

He had been lying in his bed reading when he heard noise coming from downstairs. He assumed it was just Hermione coming back from breakfast, so he went back to his book. He remembered their odd conversation the night before, and how she had seemed so sincere about wanting to know what was wrong with him. He didn't want to be near her at the moment, afraid that she would also remember.

The noise downstairs hadn't gone away, and now Draco could make out another voice. Curious, he put his book down and walked over to his door and opened it. Hermione and Ginny turned around at the sound of the door. "Oh great..." Draco muttered. Hermione was alright, but the Weasley was one person he really didn't want around.

Hermione looked uncertainly from Draco to Ginny, worried that Draco was going to say something horrible to Ginny, but nothing came. Draco stood there in the doorway for a moment, then walked down the stairs into the common room and sat down on his couch. He pulled his school bag towards him, pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill, and began to write.

Hermione looked at Ginny, who shrugged. Hermione took Ginny's arm and led her to the balcony. Ginny let out a low whistle. "Wow, nice view," she said, impressed.

Hermione nodded. "Yeah, it's amazing."

Ginny turned to look at Hermione. "I think I'd better go for now, I can come back later when Malfoy's not around. Besides, I have some homework that should get started on."

Hermione grinned. "Oh alright," she said. "I still have to show you my room!"

Ginny laughed. "Of course! I'll see you later Hermione." She said, turning to leave. Then she walked over to the portrait door and left.

Hermione also came back inside and flopped down on her couch, across from where Draco was sitting, still writing. "Already showing this place off, huh?" he said, not looking up. Hermione rolled her eyes at him even though he wouldn't see. "Yes, I am." She replied. Draco just shrugged and went back to his writing. They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes until Draco stood and went to his room. Hermione watched him go, wondering again what had happened to him.

As the days went on, Draco and Hermione began to get used to each other's presence. Each morning, they woke at the same time, even if they didn't know it. Hermione would get up immediately, but Draco always lay in his bed for a while thinking. They often left the common room at nearly the same time; Hermione sometimes felt that they were unconsciously following each other. Whenever she returned to the common room or went to a class that she shared with the blonde boy, she always seemed to arrive either just before or just after he did. It was somewhat unnerving, but almost fun at the same time. She would take shortcuts or go around the long way to get places. She walked very slowly or very quickly, but it didn't seem to matter; she could not shake Draco.

One Saturday morning a few weeks later found Hermione sitting at her favorite table in the library, dozens of books stacked around her. She was doing research for her report with Draco in Arithmancy. They had been working on it in class, and they had actually been working well together. Looking around at the books covering her table, Hermione realised that she was missing one book that she needed.

She stood up and walked around to a section of the library that other students commonly avoided. It was full of difficult texts that all looked the same and gave you the same headache if you tried to make sense of them. Unless you were Hermione Granger, of course; to her, they were just like any other book on the shelves. She walked up and down the rows of shelves, hardly seeming to glance at their contents. She stopped a reached up to grab a book, not even bothering to look at what she was getting. She turned to leave and found her way blocked.

Draco stood there, arms crossed, leaning against the bookshelves. 'How do you do that?" he asked, nodding his head toward her book. Hermione cocked her head to the side and looked at him, confused. "Do what?" she asked. Draco smiled slightly. "You didn't even look to see if you were getting the right book. Do you really know the library so well that you automatically grab the right book every time?"

Hermione shrugged. "Okay, so I know where things are. I come here a lot, everyone knows that. I'm the resident bookworm, right?" Draco caught the bitterness in her voice, even though she was trying to hide it. He wasn't even sure she knew it was there. He laughed slightly. "It's just strange to watch is all." Hermione shook her head and suppressed a grin with some difficulty. She made her way back to her table, Draco trailing behind. As he sat down across from her, she asked him, "Won't it seem odd if people see us sitting at the same table?" Draco shrugged. "Not really. We've been assigned a project together, and if anyone asks, we'd much rather be somewhere else." He shrugged again, and Hermione didn't bother trying to hide her grin.

They sat and worked for a while, talking occasionally when they found something interesting. Eventually they decided they had done enough research for the day and returned to the common room. Draco went up to his room, muttering something about not wanting to go to lunch. Hermione also went to her room, thinking she might give Crookshanks a nice brushing if he was there. Lately he had taken to wandering the castle and sleeping in random windows along the corridors. Hermione was about to flop down onto her bed when she noticed a large package lying on it.

Looking at the label on the top, she saw it was from her parents. For a moment she couldn't think of why her parents would be sending her something this big; then she remembered that her birthday was in only a few days. Birthdays had never been a big deal for Hermione; she only ever had small parties with her parents and maybe one or two friends. The idea of having huge parties with tons of people had never appealed to her. Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, Hermione tore off the paper on the package, revealing an enchanted stereo. "Oh wow," she said.

Her parents knew that electricity didn't work inside Hogwarts, so they had ordered the stereo from an ad Hermione had seen in a copy of _Witch Weekly_. Over the summer, Hermione had found that music was the easiest way to deal with her worries and emotions about the world. For two months, her radio or cd player had been going non-stop. That was one thing she had missed in the last few weeks; the constant sound of music in her ears.

Hermione lifted the stereo out of the box and saw another, smaller box underneath it. She opened the second box to reveal all of her cd's, plus some new ones that her parents had bought for her. She carried the stereo and her cd's down the stairs to the common room and set them down on the table against the wall.

She flipped through the cd book and pulled out one of her favorites, a band called Girlyman. She popped the cd in and hit play, sinking down in one of the armchairs. She put her head back and closed her eyes, relishing the sound of the music that she had become accustomed to over the summer. Listening to music always made Hermione feel like writing, so she stood and grabbed her book bag from beside the door. Pulling out her journal, she began to write, not noticing Draco standing at the bottom of his stairs when he came down a few minutes later and stood there, watching her.

Draco had never heard music like this. Anything he listened to, if it wasn't something classical, was dark and heavy. Draco did listen to some Muggle music, but only because he knew no one else knew about it. No one in Slytherin listened to metal or hard rock, and that was what Draco liked. Everyone else he knew was into the mainstream, popular stuff they played on the WWN, but Draco found it all boring.

He had always thought Hermione would be one of those kinds of people, but it appeared that he was wrong. He had been lying on his bed, staring blankly at the canopy of his bed when he heard the music floating up the stairs. Something in the music appealed to him; it was a different sort of appeal than with the dark, angry music he was used to. This was softer and seemed-to him-sort of melancholy. He could hear an acoustic guitar, which sounded strange after so long listening to hard electric guitar riffs and deep baselines. Curious now, he stood and walked over to his door. He hesitated a minute, biting his lip, before opening the door and slowly going down the stairs.

A large cd player sat on the table, a large book of cd's beside it. Hermione herself was sitting in an armchair with her journal in her lap, softly singing along with the music. Suddenly she seemed to realize that Draco was there and she looked up at him quickly. "Sorry," he muttered. "I just heard your music and was curious..." Hermione looked at him oddly, a slight smile on her face. Draco walked over to his couch and sat down, leaning back against the arm of the couch. "So, who are you listening to, anyway?" he asked her. "I'll be really surprised if you've ever heard of them," Hermione replied standing up to retrieve the cd case from the table behind her. "They're called Girlyman, don't ask me why, and they're one of my favorites." She handed the case to Draco, who looked it over curiously. "Muggles, right?" he shot at Hermione, who nodded. Draco gave her back the case. "Sounds pretty good, actually." He shrugged.

Hermione continued to look oddly at Draco for a moment before asking, "What kind of music do you listen to?" Draco laughed slightly. "What do you think?" he said, looking at Hermione. She shrugged. "I don't know, classical is sort of the first thing that comes to mind. Beethoven's _Requiem_ actually. If you listened to Muggle music, I would say you'd probably listen to Metallica or something, but I doubt you'd even know who they are." She shrugged again.

Draco stared at Hermione, rather surprised. She had just named one of his favorite pieces and one of his favorite bands. "You're good, Granger. Actually, I do listen to Muggle music. Metal, to be exact. And Metallica's one of my favorites. As for classical, I happen to really like Tchaikovsky, even if he was a Muggle." Hermione laughed at this. "I never figured you for Tchaikovsky, somehow." Draco laughed too. "Okay, my turn," he said. "I bet you don't really listen to wizard music, since you're Muggleborn. I'm going to guess you're a soft rock person and you like Irish music and show tunes." He folded his arms over his chest proudly.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Are you being serious, or are you just guessing randomly?" she asked. Draco grinned "Half and half. I guessed on the second half, but I know I'm right about you listening to rock." Hermione shook her head. "You're only partly right, Malfoy. I actually listen to pretty much anything. Here, have a look." She passed Draco her cd book and he started flipping through it. Finally he gave it back to her, his new, odd half-smirk half smile on his face "Looks like you've got quite the collection there, Granger. I've actually heard of some of these people, you know."

Hermione smiled at him in return. She stood up and stopped the cd, replacing it with another one. She hit play and returned to her chair. She picked up her pen and started writing again. Draco watched her for a moment, letting a woman's voice slowly wash over him from the stereo. Then he stood and retrieved his own journal and sat down to write as well.

Draco had never really thought of himself as a poet, but he had to admit, there was something rather poetic about the way he wrote. Whenever he sat down and started writing, it was like the words were forming themselves, deciding exactly what they wanted to say and how long each line needed to be. Sometimes he had an idea of what was going to come out of his quill, but sometimes, like now, he was just writing whatever first came to mind. After a moment's pause, he set his quill to the paper.

_Drowning in slow motion__  
__Take my hand, I'm sinking__  
__Are you there? Where are you?__  
__No, you're not real, are you__  
__You're an illusion to fool me__  
__Just a mist, a prying vision__  
__testing my strength of mind__  
__Weakening me slowly, surely__  
__Taking away my integrity__  
__Ruining my Safe Haven__  
__Crumbling the walls of my defense__  
__Why do you mess with my mind?__  
__Is it fun for you to do?__  
__Does it make you happy?__  
__You take away al that I am__  
__You burn everything I cherish__  
__A tidal wave of vengeance__  
__Sweeping away my humanity__  
__My lighthouse, my call to home__  
__Broken by a wave of hatred__  
__There is no center in the sea__  
__Only a vast, empty expanse__  
__Drowning in slow motion__  
__Drowning in my anger_

Draco looked at the words on the page. He wasn't quite sure yet what the meaning was of what he had written, but he would understand it eventually. That's how it was; sometimes it took him a while to figure out what he had been intending. He looked up to find Hermione twirling her quill between two fingers, looking down at her page with an odd expression on her face.

Hermione herself was staring at her paper, trying to understand how the purpose of her words had mutated. She had begun writing, intending to find some sort of way to express the heavy anxiety and frustration she was feeling at the world. Instead, she had somehow come to write something else entirely. She read the words over again, trying to make sense of it.

_A whisper of memory__  
__a fragment of an older age__  
__a sad hollow reflection__  
__of something that once was__  
__an echoing voice__  
__stretching across the years__  
__of the unknown abyss__  
__a pale reminder__  
__of the way of things__  
__of unchanging reality__  
__a murmured word__  
__like a shard of the past__  
__a reflection in__  
__a one-way mirror__  
__an unseen hand reaching __  
__and catching hold of nothing__  
__a shadow that has no body__  
__just a memory that hasn't died_

Hermione sighed and put her quill down. She glanced over at Draco; he was staring into space somewhere on the floor between them. He shook his head slightly and glanced up at her. A tiny smile flitted across his face at her obvious frustration. "What's wrong with you, Granger?" he asked a hint of laughter in his voice. Hermione sighed again. "It's just something I wrote," she told him. "I was trying to say something and I ended up with something completely different which happens to make absolutely no sense."

Draco looked at her oddly, thinking about how his words didn't make much sense either. Then an idea hit him. "Hey, Granger," he said. "I'll show you what I wrote if you let me see what you've got." Hermione stared at him for a moment before slowly handing over her journal. "Uh, sure, I guess." She said hesitantly. Draco passed his own journal to her and took hers. He read through her words twice. _I knew she was good at writing essays, but I didn't know she could write like this, too._ Draco thought with mild surprise.

Hermione read what the boy had written with a small frown on her face. She was rather surprised at the emotion in his words. _I guess what doesn't show on his face comes through in his writing..._ Hermione mused. She looked up at Draco at the same time as he looked at her. He gave her a small smile and remarked, "I didn't know you could write something besides essays."

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him. "Maybe, but what good is it if it doesn't make any sense?" she said. Draco shrugged. "I don't know, it makes sense to me." Hermione blinked. "It does? Explain it to me then." Draco took a breath and looked down at the paper before looking back up at Hermione. "It's like talking about something that's been lost. Trying to say that you'll find it again, or wishing you could, but knowing that it's impossible. At least, that's how I see it. Maybe you can't make sense of it because you're trying to think of something else?"

Hermione cocked her head and looked at Draco. "Maybe you're right," she admitted. She shook her head and continued, "I didn't know you were a writer, either. It never occurred to me. I'm surprised that there's actually some emotion in your words; you try so hard not to show anything." Draco frowned. "I guess," he said slowly, staring blankly at the wall. "I'm actually not sure what it means, either. I just sort of write whatever comes to mind. Usually the meaning for it comes to me later." He looked back up at Hermione, a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Of course, usually, I can't ask Hogwarts' brightest witch for her interpretation." Hermione smiled lightly. There was something mocking but sincere in Draco's voice.

"My interpretation, huh?" she asked, one eyebrow raised. "Okay then." She read through the words again quickly before speaking. "If it wasn't for the fact that you're the one who wrote this, I'd say that you're angry with someone for trying to control you. But I can't see why that would be." Hermione looked up at Draco again, expecting him to have some remark about how stupid that sounded. Instead, he was looking at her in an almost calculating way, a thoughtful frown on his face. "Maybe you're right," he said softly. He shook his head slightly and spoke again. "You know Granger, you're one of the only people to see anything I've written." He laughed slightly at that. Hermione was curious and slightly surprised. "Who else? And why show it to me?" she asked Him. Draco counted on his fingers. "Well, so far it's just you, Blaise; who else? Oh, and Pansy once by accident. I didn't know she could read upside down." He shrugged. "And as for showing you, I don't know, I guess maybe because you were having the same problem with your writing as I was with mine."

Hermione stared off into space, thinking. _So I'm only the second person who Draco has intentionally shown his writing to. I guess what he said makes sense, we _were_ both having the same problem of understand what we had written. But still, it's so strange. But maybe it's a good thing..?_ She pulled her head out of the clouds as she realized Draco was speaking again. "I'm sorry, what did you say?' she asked. Draco smiled slightly. "I was just wondering if you do a lot of writing." Hermione nodded slightly. "Well, it's not exactly a lot, but a fair amount." She gestured to her journal, now sitting beside Draco on the arm of the couch. "That's about halfway filled, and I only bought that one at the beginning of the summer. I have a few more that are completely full, one or two from each year." Draco laughed. "I do the same thing," he told her, nodding at his journal, which was still laying across Hermione's lap. "I have a few more up in my room. Usually the get filled up pretty quickly, other times it takes me a few months." He studied Hermione again for a moment. "I'd like to look at some more of your writing sometime." He said, not quite meeting her eyes, as though embarrassed. Hermione smiled. "Sure, I guess. I'd like to read more of yours, too." He looked up and smiled. Then he stood and gave Hermione back her journal. He took his own from her and set it on the coffee table and walked toward the door. He paused briefly and looked at her. "See you later Granger, I need to take a walk." He dropped his eyes to the ground and said quietly, "I need to think about what you said." Then he opened the portrait door and was gone, striding slowly down the corridor. Hermione watched him go, a slight smile on her face.

**So what do you guys think? Is this a good chapter? I'm sorry it's slow, but I felt that it really needed to be this way, just to show how Draco and Hermione can get along without really thinking about it. This took me a really long time to write, so I hope it's good. **

**Also, the things they wrote, those are both poems that I've written and they just seemed to be the right thing for each of them to have written. I hope you guys agree. Hopefully I won't have to make you all wait nearly this long for the next chapter. And here's your teaser: "****'I want to answer your question. I want to tell you what's wrong with me.' Draco was looking at her with a strange look on his face, one that Hermione couldn't place."**


	7. Conversations and Confessions

**Author's Note: Hey, I'm finally back! Yippee!**

**Okay, this is a long chapter, some 4,500 words or so. It gets sort of heavy at the end, there's some fairly deep stuff there. And I've added a lovely little twist-type thing for your pleasure. If you haven't already, please read chapter six first, since I finally got that one up. I can't apologize enough for making you all wait so long. And so, without further adieu, enjoy!**

Chapter Seven

The weeks passed, and November swept in, bringing with it rain and sleet and colder weather, reminding everyone that winter wasn't far off. Meanwhile, the chaos and violence in the world outside the walls of the school was becoming worse and worse with each passing day. Because of the growing threat of another attack to the school, McGonagal had ordered the Heads and Prefects to do extra patrols during the day on weekends.

And that's how Hermione found herself walking the corridors on one particularly cold Saturday in mid-November. Normally she didn't mind, and she liked cold days better than hot ones, but really, a line had to be drawn somewhere. The snow had begun falling a week ago and it had been falling nonstop ever since, leaving nearly a foot and a half of white powder on the grounds and making the corridors horribly chilly. She could see her breath and her fingers were slowly becoming numb.

Hermione grumbled to herself as she finished her patrol and headed back to the common room. All she wanted to do was flop down in one of the big overstuffed armchairs near the fire and take a nice long nap. She had so much to worry about these days, and the weather wasn't helping much. Unfortunately, she doubted she would be able to do that. She and Draco were still unintentionally shadowing each other, and she was almost positive that he would pop up as soon as she got comfortable.

The two had been spending more time together, mostly in the common room or in the library; sometimes they would just sit in comfortable silence, listening to music or reading, even just sitting and enjoying the other's presence. And other times they would talk and laugh, sharing bits of writing or random doodles; they came to realize they had a lot of similar interests and both enjoyed having someone to talk to. But recently, there had been less laughter and more serious discussions if they weren't sitting in silence. Draco had developed a habit of coming into the common room whenever Hermione was there. He never said much, just sat there across from her, staring into space and thinking. Often, Hermione would catch him looking at her oddly, but whenever she looked up, he had already looked away. She wondered if Draco's behavior had to do with the increasing reports of destruction and deaths that were pouring in every day. There was certainly something more nervous about him.

Draco himself was one reason why Hermione found herself trying to avoid the common room. It wasn't that she felt uncomfortable, but something about the way Draco seldom spoke and hardly seemed to move when he was sitting in the common room was slightly unnerving. Hoping that Draco wasn't already there, Hermione gave the password and stepped into the common room. There was no sign of the blonde boy, and Hermione sighed a little as she made her way over to the armchair closest to the fire. She closed her eyes and let the warmth seep into her bones. She knew Draco would appear within a few minutes, but for now she relished the short time she had to be by herself. And sure enough, no sooner had Hermione gotten completely comfortable and started to drift off when she heard the sound of footsteps outside the portrait door. She turned her head as the portrait opened and Draco stepped into the room, smiling slightly. He was followed by another person, a tall black boy who Hermione knew to be Blaise Zabini; she had sometimes encountered him at Slughorn's parties the previous year. He had struck her as intelligent, and he always seemed bored. He had often seemed far more interested in classes whenever they did more difficult, advanced things. But he was Slytherin House's second prince, and had a reputation of being second only to Draco himself. But Draco had said that he was staying at home, so why was he here now?

Draco's smile faded as he spotted Hermione. She stood up and headed to the stair case to her rooms, thinking that Draco might not want her around with the other Slytherin boy there. But a voice stopped her at the bottom of the stairs. "Hey, Granger, wait!" Hermione turned to see Blaise looking at her oddly. "Yes?" she asked, wondering what he could want. Blaise looked from her to Draco, who had stepped out onto the balcony and was looking out over the grounds. Blaise looked back at her again. "Well, uh," he began. "We were actually wondering if you could help us with something."

Hermione felt her eyebrows rising in surprise and suspicion. "What? _You_ want _my_ help? With what?" Blaise shifted slightly, seeming nervous. "It's actually rather important. It's not schoolwork or anything, but it sort of has to do with school-" Hermione cut him off; he was starting to ramble a bit. "Look, Zabini, just tell me what you want." It was Draco who answered; he was leaning against the doorway to the balcony, listening. "We need to talk to Potter, actually," he said. "But I doubt he'd talk to us if we asked him. If you could talk to him for us that'd be great."

Hermione cocked her head to one side, confused. "What do you mean? Why do you want to talk to Harry?" she asked. Blaise turned to her again. "We just need to ask him a few things. Well, we know he's been in a few battles with our dear _Dark Lord_," He sneered at the name and continued. "We just want to know what happened. So far he's managed to stay alive, against all odds. We want to know how, now that all our lives are seriously on the line."

Hermione wasn't sure what to say. All sorts of crazy, half-formed thoughts were going through her mind. Why would the (admittedly former) Prince of Slytherin want to talk to The Boy Who Lived? And why did Blaise want to as well? Hermione would have thought that, what with Draco seemingly out of the picture, Blaise would have wanted to take over his place. But it seemed that there were now two Slytherins that she had obviously been mistaken about. Any other time, she would have suspected a plot of some kind of another, but Blaise had come to Hogwarts, even though he was supposed to be at home by his parents' orders, and had asked to talk to Harry. But mostly, he was being civil to her. That, in Hermione's mind, proved that he was sincere. There was just one more thing she had to know. "Why are you doing this? I mean, I never thought you would care about Harry."

Blaise glanced briefly at Draco, who had come back inside and was sitting on his couch staring into space, his mind clearly elsewhere. Blaise turned back to Hermione. "It doesn't matter if he's the pride and glory of your House, the fact still remains that he's probably the only person to have had to face Voldemort every year and still managed to live to tell the tale. That can't be ignored, because who knows who he'll go after next. My family all support him, but they could be next if they do something to displease him. Draco's father messed up with that thing at the Ministry two years ago, so their whole family could be in danger. There are so many random disappearances, it's impossible to predict what will happen."

He grimaced. "Sorry about the speech there. But can you se why we need to do this?" Hermione nodded. "I understand. I'll see if I can get him to talk to you, but I don't know if I can. He was livid when he learned that Malfoy would be coming back to school. Sent me a four-page letter about it. I really don't know if he'll agree to talk to him, but I'll try." Blaise smiled slightly. "Thanks Granger." He said, sighing. He sank into the chair Hermione had been sitting in so many long minutes ago. She herself felt somewhat drained by the combination of extra patrols and then this odd request. She flopped down onto her couch across from Draco, who was still staring into space and seemed not to have been paying the slightest attention to anything that had happened in the last few minutes.

A sudden thought hit Hermione and she turned to Blaise. "So what are you doing here anyway? Malfoy said that you were staying at your manor this year, said your parents didn't want you to come back." Blaise looked uncomfortable for a second before he managed to hide it. "My parents were hauled in for questioning by the Ministry a few days ago. I didn't have to go, so the Ministry said I could either stay at the Manor or I could come back here. You can guess which one I chose." He shrugged. "I've always liked it better here anyways. The Manor is just a bit creepy when you're there all alone with only the house elves, and they're scared to death of our whole family, even though I don't do anything to them."

Hermione smiled. So these Slytherins did have weaknesses after all. Small ones, maybe, but they were still there. Blaise noticed her smile and asked, "What?" Hermione just shook her head. "Nothing. It's just that the thought of a big bad Slytherin thinking a house is too creepy to stay in is rather amusing." A small laughed escaped her as she realized what she had said. Blaise just stared at her for a moment before cracking a grin of his own. "Yeah, I guess it is." He said shaking his head. He cocked his head to the side and looked at her oddly again. "You do realise what just happened, right?" he asked Hermione. She shrugged. "Let me guess, a civil conversation? It does make such a nice change. Now there are two Slytherins who actually are civil to me, it's quite nice." At Blaise's confused look, Hermione nodded her head at Draco. "That one took some getting used to, I have to say. I was rather impressed when he said good morning to me and apologized to Ron, both in the same day." She laughed.

Blaise looked at her, his face full of surprise. "What?" he asked. "Well, he certainly failed to mention that little bit. Saying good morning I can sort of see him doing, but apologizing to a Weasley? That's just odd." They both laughed at that. Draco groaned, causing the two to look over at him. He had apparently heard Hermione's remark. "There's a very good reason why I didn't tell you about that, Blaise. Granger here looked like she was going to box my ears when I said good morning. It was kind of intimidating. And as for Weasley, it took me an hour to realize what had happened. I've been trying not to think about it ever since." He rolled his eyes. "You just had to bring that up, didn't you Granger?" Hermione just laughed and shook her head.

The three sat quietly for a few moments, each thinking their own thoughts. Blaise got up and looked around the common room with interest, inspecting the books on the shelves and Hermione's cd player before going out on the balcony to survey the view. Draco sat staring into the fire, muttering occasionally to himself. Hermione heard him say "-maybe I can trust-". She wondered for a moment if he was talking about her, but then dismissed the thought. She herself was thinking as well, wondering what Ginny would make this; she had been interested by Draco's behavior, she would undoubtedly like to know that now Blaise was being civil as well. Hermione planned on filling her in at dinner tonight, if she didn't see her earlier.

No sooner had that thought run through Hermione's mind when someone knocked on the portrait door. Hermione opened it to admit Ginny herself. The girl stopped short a few paces from the door when she was the two boys. Blaise was crouched down, looking the books again, and Draco was still staring blankly into the fire. "What's up, Gin?" Hermione asked, ushering the redhead into the room. "Nothing really," Ginny replied turning back to Hermione. "Harry and Ron wanted to have a snowball fight, so I thought I'd come see if you wanted to join us?" Hermione put the back of her hand to her forehead in mock-defeat. "If I must," she said, sighing dramatically. She grinned. "I'll be right back, let me go upstairs and grab my cloak." Then she dashed up the stairs to her room.

Ginny took a seat on Hermione's couch. She noticed Blaise looking at her curiously and turned toward him. "You're the little Weasley girl. Ginny, isn't it?" he asked her. Ginny nodded; He must have heard her name during one of Slughorn's foul parties, but she didn't think he would have remembered it. "You're Blaise Zabini." She had always thought Blaise acted more high and mighty than he really was; and it appeared that she may have been right. Blaise smiled slightly. "Nice to meet you, actually," he said, and reached out a hand to shake hers. He caught her surprised look and grinned widely.

"Don't worry, I won't bite," he said. "I know it's hard to believe, but I'm actually not the evil psychopath that everyone thinks I am. It's really just for appearance's sake." Draco laughed quietly and turned to Blaise; it seemed he had been listening to Blaise and Ginny's conversation. There was a ghost of a smile on his lips. "Really now, Blaise, you're finally beginning to sound like a decent person," he joked. Blaise just rolled his eyes at his friend and retorted. "Who's idea was it to ask Granger about Potter? I do believe it was yours, in case you had forgotten. And who was it who was running about apologizing to Weasley and saying good morning to Granger?" Draco slapped a hand to his forehead and threw a pillow at Blaise. "You had to remind me again. I swear, you and Granger are secretly out to get me." Blaise laughed and Ginny found herself smiling at their antics.

She looked at Draco and asked, "You want to talk to Harry?" Draco caught the surprise in her voice and removed his hand from his face to look at her. "We, uh," He glanced at Blaise quickly before continuing. "We just need to talk to him about a few things, that's all." Blaise added, "We asked Granger for help, since Potter would probably just hex us into oblivion if we asked to talk with him. Especially Draco." Ginny cocked her head to the side. "Right, okay then," she said, looking both slightly confused and a bit incredulous. "Because it's just so normal for two of Slytherin's biggest and baddest to go 'round asking to talk to their worst nemesis." She grinned and shook her head.

Just then, Hermione came back down with her cloak fastened around her shoulders and her scarf and gloves in her hand. "Alright, let's go!" she said and the two girls headed for the door. Hermione stopped in front of the portrait and turned back to Draco and Blaise. "Would you like to come with us?" she asked. Blaise cocked his head to the side. "You're inviting us?" he asked curiously. Ginny shrugged. "Sure," she said. "Why not?" Blaise and Draco looked at each other before Draco answered. "As kind as your offer is, I don't think it's a good idea. We'd still like Granger to talk to Potter, and that might be difficult if he thinks you two are friendly with us." Blaise nodded. "Best not to push our luck with Potter; he's pretty tightly strung about us as is." Hermione and Ginny nodded understandingly. "Well," Ginny said as she pushed open the portrait. "Maybe we'll hang out another time then." Draco smiled and Blaise nodded. "Sure." They chorused. Hermione laughed and led the way out the door. Draco watched the portrait close behind the girls. When he looked up, Blaise was eyeing him oddly. "What?" Draco asked the other boy. Blaise smiled lightly. "It's funny, you talk to Granger almost the same way you talk to me. And you were perfectly friendly to the Weasley girl." Draco shrugged. "I told you, Granger's actually not bad. She's a writer, did you know that?" Blaise laughed. "And how would you know? No, don't tell me, I'll find out eventually."

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment, then he turned back to Blaise. "You remember that letter I told you about, from my mother?" Blaise nodded, and Draco continued. "When I came down here, I was really angry. She asked me what was wrong; it was weird, because I think she actually wanted to know." He reached over and grabbed his journal off the coffee table and handed it to Blaise. "Read the last one." Blaise took the journal with a confused look on his face. Draco bit his lip for a moment before he spoke again. "I let her read that one. She said it sounded like I was angry at someone for trying to control me. Blaise, she seems to know me better than I do, and I think she honestly cared that night when I was angry. What should I do? I wish there was someone else I could trust, another person like you, but I don't know if I should trust her or not." Blaise looked at Draco with a smile on his lips. "Maybe you should talk to her?" he said quietly.

A few hours later, Hermione came back to the common room. She was wet and cold from her snowball fight, and she was a bit tired as well. She hung up her cloak and walked over to her couch. Draco was still sitting where he had been when she left, but his journal lay on the arm of he couch next to him; Hermione supposed that he must have been writing. Blaise was nowhere to be seen. She flopped down and closed her eyes. "Where's Zabini?" she asked. "He went back to the Slytherin common room I think." Draco's voice was quieter than normal, and he sounded odd.

They sat there for a moment without talking; then Draco looked up at Hermione. "Uh, Granger," he said quietly. Hermione opened her eyes and looked around at him, curious. Draco was carefully not looking at her. His eyes were fixed on the ground and he was spinning his quill between his fingers. "Yes, Malfoy?" Hermione said. _He almost looks nervous..._ she thought amusedly. Draco glanced up briefly before continuing. "I just...I didn't mean what I said that night, about you not understanding me..." Hermione tilted her head to one side, confused. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Can I tell you something?" he asked. "Without you telling anyone?" Hermione was surprised. "Of course." Draco bit his lip. "I've been thinking about what you said, about that thing I wrote. You said I was angry with people trying to control me." Hermione nodded slowly. Draco continued. "You picked out the very thing I was trying to say before I knew I even had to say it. I talked to Blaise about it, and he said I should talk to you." "What do you want to tell me?" Hermione asked. He answered her in a quiet voice. "You asked me what was wrong, when we were first getting used to each other. I want to answer your question." Draco was looking at her with a strange look on his face, one that Hermione couldn't place.

Draco took a deep breath. When he started speaking again, it was in a disjointed manner, as though he didn't know where to start. "I guess...I mean...it's because of this letter I got, from my mother. My father is in Azkaban, and now she's starting to act like him. He still wants complete control over me and her, even locked away. My mother has always been his pawn, doing whatever he says. He wants me to be just like him, an exact copy. And if that's what my father wants, then that's what my mother wants." He paused, not knowing what to say next. He looked up at Hermione; she was looking at him curiously, waiting for him to continue. He looked back down at the ground and kept speaking. "I guess it's always bothered me that no one asked my opinion about things. I didn't have a choice about following my father; that was something that just had to happen. I was always told that it was my place to uphold my family's honor, and nothing less would do. Up until fourth year, I thought my father was right, I thought it was my duty to follow in his footsteps. I was the son of Lucius Malfoy, the pride of Slytherin House and the Pureblood line."

His shoulders shook a little as he said this, and Hermione saw with surprise that he seemed to be fighting back tears. Slowly, she stood and moved over to sit on the other end of the couch from Draco. He stiffened slightly and glanced over at her. Then he seemed to relax a little and continued talking.

"The summer before fourth year, after the Quidditch World Cup, I heard my father and his...the others...talking about reliving the old times, back when...when _he_ was in power. I didn't really know what they meant, but my father told me that I needed to stay away, to go somewhere where I wouldn't be found by anyone on the wrong end of things. I didn't question him. I couldn't, he had ordered me. I remember he had seemed strange, as though he were going off on some important mission. I went into the woods, trying to act as casually as I could. I saw what happened. I saw the tents go up in flames, and I heard the screams. People were running everywhere, into the woods on all sides. I remember you and Potter and the Weasel turned up. Once you left, I kept watching. I didn't know what was going on, I didn't know what my father was up to, but the longer I watched, the less I liked it. It was too much. There was no reason for all the destruction they were causing.

"I had thought that maybe this was something for the Dark Lord, some plot or another. But I could see now that it wasn't. This was some sort of joke for my father and the rest. They were bored and wanted to cause chaos. My father, the man I had looked up to my whole life, was torturing innocent people, Muggles, just because he could."

Hermione looked at Draco, amazed. He was sitting with his hands clasped in front of him, and he was shaking. She could see he was trying to fight back tears, but a single tear escaped his eyes and trailed down his pale cheek. Hermione was shocked; Draco Malfoy was crying. Without thinking, she reached out her hand to wipe away the tear, but then she stopped. Instead, she placed her hand on his shoulder. He looked at her in surprise. Hermione felt a ghost of a smile touch her lips. Draco turned away and took a deep breath once more before going on.

"That night, at the Quidditch Cup, I realized something about my father and my family. All that matters to them is our honor as Purebloods, our servitude to the Dark Lord. The Malfoy name is more important than anything. Until me. I don't want to be like that, I don't want to hurt anyone, I don't want to follow my father, or the Dark Lord. I take responsibility for what I did before, but I wish I hadn't. I can't take back everything I did, but I wish I could. I'm not the person everyone wants me to be, I can't be that person. But I've been that person for so long, I don't know what I'm doing now. Maybe I hate Harry Potter, but I hate Voldemort more."

Hermione didn't know what to do. She was shocked at what Draco had just told her. It had never occurred to her that he would want to be different from his father. He was still shaking, and another few tears leaked from his eyes. He wiped them away with the back of his hand and turned away from her. Hermione wanted to do something, anything to comfort him. He had become almost like a friend to her. So she carefully put her arm around him. She felt his shoulders tense at her touch.

Draco looked at her, startled. He hadn't expected her to comfort him. They had been enemies for years, and yet he had just shared one of his greatest secrets with her. And here she was, with her arm around his shoulder, letting him cry. He wanted to say something to her; what, he didn't really know, but he needed to say something. Before he could think of anything, Hermione spoke. "I'm so sorry...Draco." Then she stood up and turned away from him. "I'm sorry." She said again softly. She walked quickly across the room and up the stairs to her bedroom, shutting the door swiftly.

Draco remained where he was; his mind was still trying to piece together what had just happened. For a moment he was certain he had imagined it; Hermione would never have done that. They were enemies, she didn't comfort him, it was impossible..._ But she did..._Draco realized. The tiniest smile graced his face; Blaise had been right to talk her.

Hermione was lying on her bed on her back, her mind. She lay there for a while longer, her mind uncomfortably blank. Then Draco's words began to seep into her mind. How his mother had always been like a slave to his father. How he had never considered that his father might be wrong. How he had realized what he was expected to do.

Hermione sat up and looked out her window. _He didn't want any of it..._ she thought. _He didn't want to hurt anyone._ She stood and walked into her bathroom to wash her face. She felt slightly dizzy. As she stood at the sink, splashing warm water onto her face, Draco's words drifted back into her mind. _"I might hate Harry Potter, but I hate Voldemort more."_ Hermione looked at her reflection in the mirror. "Why did he tell me all these things?" she asked herself. "Why did he trust me to keep what he said a secret?" The girl in the mirror made no answer.

**So, this is, I believe, my longest chapter to date. It's certainly my favorite, and it took me forever and a half to write. I want to thank you all for reviewing; I've gotten more and more with each chapter. You all rock!**


	8. Exciting News and Explanations

**This was a hard chapter for me to write, for some reason. I always knew this chapter would be one of the hardest, but hopefully the next one will be a lot easier to do. Even with it being hard, I'm proud to say I managed to write it in about two days, which has to be a record for me. **

Chapter Eight

The next week was odd for Draco. He found himself avoiding Hermione; he was slightly afraid that she would think he was a great sodding prat for spewing out his thoughts to her like he'd done. Part of him was also ashamed to have been seen crying. Hermione never mentioned anything, and the times when he had to be around her, he got the impression that she was giving him space to think. When he mentioned it to Blaise, the boy just smiled. "See? I told you it was a good idea. I'm sure she's done a lot of thinking, and I'm pretty sure she wants you to think about it, too." Draco knew that Blaise was trying to help, but thinking was exactly what he didn't want to do; he'd been doing far too much thinking in the past few weeks, months even. He just wanted some time to relax.

Two weeks had passed, and still Draco was beginning to feel comfortable around Hermione once again. She had given him a friendly smile a few nights ago when he entered the common room, before going back to her book. He took it as a sign that she didn't think he was a fool, a thought who brightened his mood considerably that day.

An announcement had been posted on the boards in each common room and in the Entrance Hall; McGonagal had something important to say and wanted everyone to hear it. The next night at dinner, Hermione heard most of the students discussing McGonagal's announcement. No one had any idea what she wanted to say, but it was plain that many thought it wouldn't be good. Finally, McGonagal set aside her napkin and got to her feet, a small smile upon her lips. "As you are all aware, the winter holiday will officially begin in a week's time. I know that many of you wish to go home to your families for the holidays. However, there is an event which many of you may want to stay here for. Dumbledore expressed a keen desire to give you all a night of well-mannered fun. He wished for you all to take your minds away from the events outside these walls and enjoy yourselves."

The students sat motionless, listening silently to the Headmistress. McGonagal continued, "That is why, on Christmas Eve night, we will be hosting a dance. It is not a formal event by any means, as I do not believe Dumbledore would have wanted you all to have to go to any lengths to prepare. A host from the WWN has agreed to come to provide you with music." She glanced around the Hall for a moment, her mouth forming a tight smile. "The dance will officially begin at seven-thirty, and will end promptly at two, although you may, of course, leave earlier if you wish. As hesitant as I am to allow such an event, but Dumbledore wished for it, and I feel obligated to fulfill that wish." She sat again, staring down at her empty plate with a weary expression on her face.

The students were silent for a moment more, then the quiet talking began. It seemed Dumbledore had known what he was doing; all around, students were talking excitedly about the dance. Hermione looked over at Harry. He gripped the edge of the table with white-knuckled hands before taking a deep breath and looking at McGonagal. Then he turned to Hermione and Ron, who was across the table form them. He gave them a tiny smile and said quietly, "I'm not going." Across from him, Ron sighed softly and nodded slightly. Hermione looked between them and then hung her head. "You're still leaving then?" she asked quietly without looking at either boy. She felt, more than saw, Harry nod slowly. "I have to, Hermione," he said gently. "We have to." He gestured at Ron. "I know you want to stay here, and it's already hard enough to leave you and Ginny," Hermione heard his voice strain at the thought. "We need to go as soon as we can." Hermione nodded. "I understand," she said. Then she rose from the table and proceeded out of the Hall. Ginny, sitting a few seats down, saw Hermione leaving and also rose from her place to follow the older girl.

She found Hermione standing at the base of the marble steps at the end of the Entrance Hall. "C'mon," Ginny said, throwing an arm around the older girl. "Let's go up to your dorm and put on some music." Hermione smiled slightly and nodded. The two girls made their way up to the fourth floor, unaware of the two boys who had unknowingly followed them.

Draco had left the Great Hall the moment McGonagal had finished her announcement. He had a hot, burning feeling in his stomach. He knew, without knowing how, that Potter had been there that night. His instincts that night had been telling him the Dumbledore couldn't have been alone. Which meant that Potter had seen, and heard, everything. And he had undoubtedly told Granger and the Weasleys. They had not looked at him, and yet he felt certain that if they had, Potter would have been glaring death at him. That feeling alone made him feel sick and he left without anyone's notice, save for Blaise, who had been watching him closely. Silently, Draco thanked the other boy for giving him a minute alone once he got outside the Great Hall. After Blaise had joined him again, the two made their way slowly up to the Head's dorm. Neither spoke, but Draco knew they would undoubtedly get to talking once they were settled in the common room.

As they reached the portrait, Draco wondered if Hermione and the Weasley girl had already come up. He had seen them pass as he stood hidden in the shadows off the Hall, but they had gone up the stairs and out of his sight before Blaise appeared at his side and suggested that they go somewhere else. Seeing that Draco was wrapped in his own thoughts, Blaise gave the password and prodded Draco into the room. They stopped short as the portrait closed gently behind them.

Hermione lay on her back on her couch with her legs up over the arm, staring blankly up at the ceiling. Ginny sat in the armchair nearest the fire with her knees drawn up to her chest, staring at the flames with an odd frown on her face. On the coffee table was a stack of colored papers. Hermione's enchanted CD player was on, and a woman's voice was pouring out of it. For a moment, the boys weren't sure if the girls had heard them, but then Ginny looked up and Hermione said, "I thought you'd be along shortly. You two always are." She sat up and twisted sideways so she was sitting normally. Ginny reached over to the coffee table and picked up a piece of paper from the stack and tapped it with her wand. The paper folded itself in mid air, forming a small crane before flapping its paper wings and soaring toward the two boys.

Draco walked listlessly over to his couch and sat down, watching the paper crane fly around the room. He noticed several more cranes scattered around the room. He watched as Hermione took another paper off the stack and tapped it with her own wand just as Ginny had done. The paper folded into yet another crane and flew in a circle before going over to land on Draco's knee. He looked at it blankly for a moment before shooing it off. Blaise was still standing by the door, looking around at the other three with a bemused expression on his face. They looked like they were all awaiting some certain doom. He crossed him arms and said, "What's with you all?"

Three pairs of eyes turned to him. Draco looked troubled, which Blaise could understand; but why did Granger and the Weasley girl also look the same? Hermione gave him a tiny smile. "Are you going?" she asked him quietly. "To the dance?" Taken by surprise, Blaise shrugged. "Are you?" he asked her in return. A grim smile flitted across her face. "I have to." She looked at Ginny and murmured, "They can't, so I have to go for them." Blaise wondered if she was talking to him still, but he doubted it.

Draco suddenly lifted his head at looked at the two girls intently. "Potter was there, wasn't he?" he shot at them, a hint of desperation in his voice. "He was there...that night." Ginny turned to look at the boy, a frown on her face. "Yes," she said quietly. Draco visibly paled. "Then he told you," Draco said in an odd voice. "He must have, he had to have seen, had to have heard-" Hermione cut him off. "Yes, he told us," she said quietly. "And he wants to hate you all the more." Draco closed his eyes and looked away. He didn't think Potter could have hated him any more than he already did.

Blaise sat down in the other chair. He wasn't sure what was going on, not really, but it was clear that these two girls, and Potter, knew something about Draco. Something that Draco clearly didn't want to be widely know. He was about to ask what was going on when Ginny spoke. She was looking at Hermione with an odd light in her eyes. "They're leaving, aren't they?" she asked the older girl. "They're not staying." Hermione said nothing, only looked away. Ginny curled into ball with her arms wrapped around her legs and pressed her forehead against her knees.

Draco looked at the girl in slight surprise. "What the...?" he looked at Hermione for an explanation. She glanced at Ginny, then at Draco, and sighed. "They're leaving the school," she said quietly. "Harry and Ron, once the holidays begin." She shook her head and looked away. Ginny managed to look up at Draco as well. "We're staying," she said, a sad smile on her lips. "They won't even stay for the dance. They said they don't have time." She went back to staring at the fire.

"Well I'm staying here," Blaise said to the room at large. "I don't really have anywhere else to go, and this dance thing might be fun." Draco stood abruptly and walked over to the doors to the balcony. He stood there staring out at the evening sky. "I can't," he said in a quiet, strained voice. "I can't, not if anyone knows. The teachers must know, Potter will have told them. Hell, _I_ told them. I can't go, I can't." He turned and disappeared up the stairs to his room without looking at them.

Blaise watched him go with a frown on his face. Then he turned to Hermione and Ginny. 'You said Potter's leaving? Him and Weasley?" The girls nodded, looking troubled. "But, I mean, why aren't you two going with them?" Blaise asked, confused. Hermione took a breath. "They've got...something they need to do." She said quietly. "I guess I should be going, too. But Harry wouldn't hear anything of Ginny coming, and I couldn't bear to leave her here without anyone. And...and I'm Head Girl, I have responsibilities, I couldn't just leave." Blaise nodded slowly. _That's Potter for you,_ he thought to himself. _He'll allow his two friends go with him to do...whatever it is he's trying to do. But he won't let the Weaslette. Probably wants to protect her or something...Gryffindors... _He shook his head.

He had another question to ask, but he wasn't sure how the two girls would react. He took a breath and asked, "What was Draco talking about, what's Potter told you that's got him so...shaken?" Hermione looked at Blaise in surprise. "You don't know?" she asked quietly. "He didn't tell you?" Blaise frowned. "I'm not sure what you're talking about." He said looking at Hermione with his head cocked to the side. Draco's voice came from his room; he hadn't closed his door all the way and their conversation had carried up the stairs. "I didn't tell anyone, Granger," he said, leaning against the doorframe. He looked away and said in a voice that was little more than a whisper, "I never even told Snape. But he already knew anyways, so what did it matter?" There was a bitterness in his voice. Blaise turned to Draco. "I think you should come down here and talk," he said. "Because I have no clue what's going on here." Draco grimaced and slowly came back down to sit on his couch again.

"You know what happened last year, Blaise," he said. "Don't pretend that you don't already know that I was involved." He chanced a look at the other boy, who was looking rather uncomfortable. "Well, I mean, everyone thought so, when you went missing." Blaise said quietly. Draco took a breath and said, "I was supposed to do it, Blaise. I was supposed to, not Snape. He said he'd kill my mother if I didn't." Blaise looked a bit concerned.

Hermione looked away and bit her lip. "Harry was...he had something to do. He said he was going with Dumbledore and might not be back for a few hours. He asked us to keep an eye on things and then he left. The attack started. Malfoy got past us and headed for the Astronomy tower. He set off the Dark mark. He had Madam Rosmerta under the Imperius Curse; at least, that's what Harry said." Draco cringed and looked away. "It sounds so strange, hearing you say it," he said. "It would appear that Potter told you everything he heard." Hermione looked at him and bit her lip before continuing. "Harry and Dumbledore saw the Mark and came as fast as they could. Malfoy was waiting. He...he was supposed to kill him. Dumbledore."

Blaise was looking back and forth between Hermione and Draco. "You're serious?" he whispered. Draco just nodded. "I tried. But I couldn't," he said, turning back to the others. "I couldn't do it. Potter will tell you that. I had my want pointing at the old man's chest, I was ready to do it, I thought I could. I was wrong." He shuddered slightly. "I couldn't do it," he whispered again, more to himself than anyone else. Hermione continued in an flat, expressionless voice, "Snape came. We didn't stop him, we thought he was coming to help. But he...he did it. He killed Dumbledore. When he came down with Malfoy, we didn't stop him then, either. He shouted "It's over" to the Death Eaters, and they all ran." Hermione turned away. Blaise sat in stunned silence. "So, Draco was supposed to kill the old man, but couldn't, so Snape did it instead? And then they managed to get away?" he asked. Ginny nodded. Blaise stared at the floor. "You weren't kidding," he said softly. "You weren't kidding that day, on the train. You said...well, I guess you never really said it, did you?" he shook his head. "Merlin..." He stopped and stared at Draco and then at Hermione and Ginny.

Draco looked at Hermione with an oddly pained expression on his face. "How can Potter hate me even more?" he asked in a quiet voice. Hermione shook her head. "I don't know. I think...he can't bear the thought of you still being here, at Dumbledore's school, when you tried to kill him." She looked up. "I don't think he _really_ hates you more, he just wants to." Draco laughed bitterly. 'You see why I can't go to this dance thing? It's in the old man's memory, it's because he would have wanted it. If I go..." "No," Ginny was looking at Draco with a determined look on her face. "No, you should go," she said. "Otherwise, people will think that you're not sorry. They'll think you don't care enough to honor his wishes. People already hate you enough for it, why give them another reason?" Draco looked at her and shook his head. "Or they'll all hate me even more for daring to go." Blaise sighed. "I never thought I'd say it, but I agree with Weasley. Anyone could see you wish you could take it back, and I think Dumbledore probably knew that. Knows, really. You owe it to him, as a final apology." Ginny and Hermione nodded in agreement. Draco sighed and leaned back, staring at the ceiling. "I'll think about it."

**I know this is a really short chapter, but it pretty much has to be. It was annoying as hell to write, although my beta, Tracy (angelpiphi) was a real help to me. gives her a cookie **

**The next update should be a real chapter, I promise.**


End file.
